AN: Hey, another update for you. This one is one a lot of you have been waiting for. There's some of the Bella/Edward back story. I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight, I own my imagination, and borrow her creation.
"Emmett McCarty Cullen!" I screeched as I followed the sound of him running through the house towards the back door. I was still on the second floor so I decided to use a short cut and leap out of the open window. I landed gracefully but still a little ways behind Emmett as he ran into the tree line. As soon as he was out of sight I smirked to myself and wandered back into the house via the door that he'd just left by. Since I was in the kitchen I flicked the switch on the coffee maker so it started brewing my morning cup and settled myself onto a seat at the breakfast bar. It wasn't long until Rose joined me.
"Morning, Bella." She chimed happily, amusement ringing in her voice.
"Mornin', Rose." I smiled at her as I leafed through a magazine Alice had left behind.
"Where's my husband?" I shrugged with a giggle.
"Halfway to Canada?" I suggested, sharing a look with my sister. The look clearly said he deserved it. Sure he was running away now, but he'd be back eventually, and when he was I'd get him.
"Fair enough." Rose smiled as she took the magazine from me and I went to pour my cup of coffee. "You know, last night was pretty intense Bells." She said after a moment.
"I know, but yesterday was intense. I just needed to blow off some steam." I sat back down opposite her.
"And what better way than ridin' your very own cowboy?" She smirked, glancing up at me.
"Precisely." I laughed, a slight shudder running through me as I remembered the night before. We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before we were joined by the Whitlocks.
"Mornin' Sugar." Jasper purred, leaning over me slightly and inhaling the smell of the coffee I held between my hands.
"Hey Cowboy." I drawled.
"Colonel." Peter chuckled as he joined us at the breakfast bar.
"Petey." I greeted him before looking to Charlotte that stood leaning against his side. "Char." She inclined her head towards me with the smile of a very satisfied woman. Carlisle appeared, ready for another shift at the hospital, he wished us all a good day before leaving. Finally mom came down, she pressed a kiss to the top of my head and ruffled Jaspers hair fondly. "Good night, mom?" I asked with a smirk.
"It was lovely, thank you for asking." She replied serenely. "Though Alice said that she and Edward wouldn't be back until this evening." I nodded.
"Does that mean no 'This is your life' stuff today?" Jaspers phone buzzed in his jean pocket, because he'd gotten dressed before coming downstairs.
"Alice says she's not sure, she'll let you know." He relayed the message. He ran his nose along the side of my neck and purred. "You still smell like me and sex Darlin'." He growled so low in my ear that only I would be able to hear him.
"And with that I say I'm going to go shower. I refuse to smell like sex all day." I said bluntly, making the whole room laugh. I pecked Jasper's cheek and headed for our room. He was right, I could smell him all over me, and our whole room smelt of sex.
I took a long relaxing shower, letting the water soothe me, even though it was purely a mental thing, the water, even as hot as it was did nothing to really help my muscles, but the familiarity was comforting. I also used my strawberry shampoo and body wash to remove the smell of sex and Jasper. As much as I loved being covered in his scent the jokes of the others were not worth it with my current anger management problems. I wrapped myself in a towel as I left the shower and wandered into the bedroom, throwing open the huge windows to air the room out a little as I decided on my outfit for the day. I settled on some stonewash skinny jeans, a black tank top and one of Jaspers plaid shirts, tying around my waist but leaving the buttons undone. I also pulled on a pair of black Ugg boots and dried my hair, making sure it was secured in a ponytail before I headed back downstairs.
Everyone was outside on the deck talking, except Jasper and Peter who were play fighting on the grass. The sounds of them colliding were like thunder, thankfully we were too far away from the town for anyone to hear. I took a seat between Char and Esme, listening to the discussion. I was just about to join in when Emmett appeared from the tree line. Jasper and Peter stopped mid fight, both smirking as I rose from my seat.
Emmett walked towards me, hands raised in surrender as he approached. I offered him a small smile, though on the inside I was plotting. "Bells, I'm sorry about this morning." He said in a small voice.
"How far did you get?"
"Winnipeg. Then I realised you weren't following me so I came back." I nodded in acknowledgement before I leapt at him. He back up quickly, making me land in a roll, springing up straight in front of him. I barely reached his shoulder but that didn't matter.
"You, brother dear, need to learn some manners." I said in a deceptively sweet voice as I bit back a growl. He reached a hand out to ruffle my hair as he nodded.
"I know –" I cut him off by grabbing his wrist, spinning behind him and pulling his arm up his back, forcing him to his knees. I wrapped one arm around his neck as I lowered my lips to his ear.
"You will never comment on my personal relationship with Jasper again. Do you understand me?"
"Yes."
"Yes what?" I growled, tugging his arm a little higher making him wince.
"Yes Colonel." I released his wrist and pushed him forward so he landed face first on the grass. The rest of the family burst into laughter as I skipped over to Jasper who was bent over he was laughing so hard. Peter was resting a hand on Jaspers shoulder to steady himself but I brushed it off as I leapt onto my mates back.
"Save a horse." I chuckled as his arms hooked behind my knees and he straightened up, my arms around his neck. I kissed his cheek softly, running one hand through his hair and loving the purr that reverberated through him.
"Chicken!" Peter yelled and quickly Charlotte was on his shoulders, Rose was on Emmett's and I had shifted position to be seated on Jaspers shoulders. I yelped quietly as he bit my thigh gently. Esme sat in her seat, smiling indulgently as her children and guests acted their physical ages for once, and without breaking her furniture.
I was feeling rather smug as Alice and Edward arrived, Jasper and I had won the game of Chicken Peter incited and we now had him, Char, Rose and Em cleaning up after us. Rose and Char were doing our laundry while Peter and Em were putting our room back together after the devastation while Jasper and I curled up on the couch together and watched reality TV shows, laughing at the stupidity they highlighted. Alice wandered into the room and slumped into a chair while Edward flopped into the space beside me as I curled into Jasper. "Hey guys." I smiled brightly. Alice seemed to cheer up a little as I caught the meaning in her pathetic stare and changed the channel to 'America's Next Top Model', I rolled my eyes, she was too predictable some times. Edward turned to look at me for a moment, before he ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "What's bugging you?" I asked looking at my brother.
"I wondered if I'd be able to talk to you." Even though he was talking to me he seemed to be asking Jasper's permission.
"He's not my keeper. He's my Major. Of course you can talk to me. You know that Edward." I laughed, nudging Jasper who seemed to be considering Edwards plea.
"Sorry Colonel." Jasper whispered into my hair as he kissed the top of my head.
"You will be." I sang and Alice laughed but shook her head.
"It won't work Bella."
"I know, but a girl can dream right?" I sighed, ignoring the confused look of Jasper and the smirk on Edwards face. "Come on then Eddie, where'd you wanna talk?" He frowned at the nickname but answered me anyway.
"My room?" I nodded and followed him quietly up to his room on the third floor. I hadn't been in here since my change but it didn't look too different from my human memories, what little I could see through the haze of my human vision.
I sat on his day bed while he sat in front of me, cross legged on the floor. "You wanted to talk?" I prompted after a minute of silence. He nodded and swallowed.
"What do you remember about me?" Oh, joy. This was instead of that stupid board. This was my remembering time.
"I remember I've loved you since I met you. I remember spending a lot of time with you. You introduced me to the family. You told me about what you are." I thought for a moment longer. "You left me." I gasped. A whole wrenching itself open in my chest, but the pain I expected to feel wasn't as intense as I thought it would be. It was dull, a memory of pain. Edward sat there watching me as I grasped my shirt over my still heart.
"We were...together." I forced out as flashes of our time together as a couple swam before me. The Meadow. School. Nights in my room at Charlie's. My birthday. Valentines. Christmas. "But you left me. Or did we leave each other?" I wasn't sure. I could see the discussion, but I couldn't hear what was being said. It was like it was behind thick murky glass.
"Keep going." He whispered from his spot on the floor, his eyes staring at me.
"We met at high school. Junior year. You guys had just moved down from Alaska. You told me we shouldn't be friends. I figured out what you are. We dated. I loved you. You loved me. We went to the meadow. I saw you sparkle. Masochistic lion. Stupid Lamb. We were happy. You stayed with me every night. My birthday. Paper cut. Jasper. You almost left. You stayed. It wasn't right. We fought. You tried to protect me, from everything. I didn't like it. I spoke to Alice. You loved me. It wasn't the right kind of love. I was a friend. A sister. You needed something else. Someone else. They were coming. Alice saw. You all left. You said goodbye. You took them." I stopped to take a breath. My short, broken sentences echoed around the room and I saw the hurt look on Edwards face. I remembered pretty much everything from our time together now, but I was relaying the main points so he'd know. "I was broken. I hated you. I went to college. You showed up. Sophomore year. You weren't the same. I wasn't the same. Jasper and Alice. Not together. You with...Ethan!" I gasped in the realisation that I had forgotten someone so central to Edward's life, to our relationship. I had felt so betrayed and rejected when we broke up, but when we met again at college and he was with Ethan, a beautiful, funny guy, I couldn't hate him as much.
"Ethan." Edward nodded.
"You kept him away from me. You said we had to fix things between us. You never expected me and Jasper. Alice did. She always knew this would happen. You were scared I'd say something to make Ethan leave you. He wasn't human, he was safe. We tried. It took two years and Charlie's death for me to forgive you, for us to get back to being friends. But we made it." I smiled as I reached the end of memory lane. I fell forward and hugged Edward tightly, he was my brother, a forgotten first love in the flushes of youth. But I still loved him. He was still family. And if it wasn't for him, I would never have gotten Jasper. "Thank you." I whispered in his ear before pulling away from his embrace and looking over his shoulder at Jasper who was leaning in the doorway holding a CD out to me.
I rose silently and took it, putting it in the stereo and pressing play. A beautiful lullaby wafted through the room from the speakers and I felt a calm spread through me that was manufactured by Jasper. I watched Edward stand up and move over to me, taking one of my hands in his and placing the other on my waist. My free hand rested on his shoulder as he started to move us across the floor. I laughed softly and let him lead, before long though Jasper cleared his throat and cut in. He pulled me close to his body and I rested my head against his shoulder, letting his contentment and happiness wash through me as we danced in my ex-boyfriends bedroom to a lullaby written to express a love we never shared, but which I shared with the blonde cowboy holding me in his arms.