Chapter 11

"Wake up sleepyhead!" Alice's trilling voice greeted me as I woke. Apparently she had taken it upon herself to be my personal alarm clock for the day. I just hope, for her sake, that she has a better fate than all my previous alarm clocks.

"Go away," I croaked with my face still behind my pillow.

"Wake up Bella, I'm going to tell you something,"

"What?" I asked, my voice sounding embarrassingly hoarse.

"Your parents wanted me to tell you that you can skip school today. They didn't think you'd be in the clear state of mind to go to school with the news they gave you yesterday so you're free for the day. Kinda makes me wish I had an arranged fiancé I didn't know about…. Hmmm but then again I already have Jasper and what if the guy wasn't cute?..." she rambled, momentarily forgetting that I was here.

"Alice. Alice. ALICE!" I shouted to get her attention. "If I have no school today then why did you wake me up? Couldn't you have left a damn note?"

"Where's the fun in that silly?" I groaned into my pillow in response.

"Oh well, I'll leave you to sleep in peace. Bye!" The sound of her light footsteps got quieter as she left the room while I pitifully tried to go back to sleep. I tossed and turned but sleep seemed to avoid me. I lay flat on my back with a sigh. Asleep or not, I refuse to get up from my bed and the peace and comfort it offered. It felt relaxing to lay in my bed, having both my mind and body at rest which was a rarity for me. It was roughly thirty minutes later when my back and neck were starting ache that I decided it was time for me to get up.

The house seemed ominous without the presence of my family. I observed as I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. My heart did a double time when I saw Edward quietly eating breakfast in the kitchen all by himself.

"What are you doing here?" He looked up to me, startled before his mouth formed into a sly grin.

"I live here now, remember?" he repeated my answer to the same question he asked last night.

I shook my head. "No, I meant aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"You think you're the only one who could skip class because you're not in the 'clear state of mind'?" he repeated Alice's words while rolling his eyes. "You should thank me by the way since I was the one who suggested we don't go to school today,"

I shook my head again, this time in amazement. "You really are something, aren't you?"

"Sweetheart, you haven't seen anything yet," he winked. My heart fluttered both because of the nickname and the gesture.

I poured myself a hearty bowl of Charms cereal and began chewing absentmindedly. There was a comfortable silence between us as we both ate our breakfast but unfortunately for me, it didn't last long.

"Bella, I think we need to talk about this," he put his fork down and looked straight at me. The gesture reminded me of my father when he's trying to be serious.

I gulped down my cereal before nodding. "Yeah, you're right," I agreed with him. If I'm planning to follow through this arrangement then I have to establish a friendship or if not at least a peaceful coexistence with my arranged-to-be husband.

"But not here, we're going out somewhere so hurry up and get ready. I'll wait for you," I was lucky there wasn't anything inside my mouth when he said that or else I would have made another spectacle of myself. The whole thing sounded like a date when clearly it's not… it's not right? What am I thinking? Of course it's not! Stupid Bella. Ugh , Shey's right I am such a spaz.

I hurriedly finished my breakfast– ignoring the inner monologue in my head– and got ready. Once I was happy in my look which consisted of a plain red blouse and jeans, I walked down the stairs to find Edward sitting on the couch waiting for me.

"Ready?"

"Yup," I locked the doors as we exited the house and headed towards the garage. He led me over to his Vanquish which I noted was far too flashy to be driven around in Forks. He opened the door for me, a gesture that caught me off guard. He flashed me a smirk when he saw my reaction.

"I maybe a jerk Bella but I was raised right," He announced, amused that I was surprised.

"Hmm… maybe you are Esme's son after all," I teased to which he rolled his eyes.

"Just get in the damn car," He said, mockingly exasperated. I complied and found that I have to duck my head, lower than I was used to in order to fit inside the car. When I was seated properly, Edward made his way to the driver's side and started the engine.

"If you don't mind me asking, whose car is this?" I asked him.

He looked at me as if he didn't understand the question. "It's mine," he said with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Your dad bought you an Aston Martin Vanquish?" I stated with incredulity. "I thought the Volvo was yours,"

"The Volvo is mine but we use it since it's less conspicuous. A Vanquish is common enough in Chicago but when we moved here, we decided the Vanquish would cause attention so we bought the Volvo," He explained while driving before turning to me with a wicked smile. "Why, are you jealous?" he teased though I supposed I had it coming.

"Don't flatter yourself. I love my Audi. I just wondered if this car was stolen or not so that when we're pulled over, I could just pretend that you held me hostage and kidnapped me," I shrugged at him, smiling.

"You seriously have a flaw in thinking like a criminal mind. First of all, a hijacker would never stop for the police so it's likely impossible that he'll get pulled over. Secondly, a criminal wouldn't put you in the passenger seat in plain view, no, he'd stow you in the trunk with your hands and feet bound and your mouth gagged,"

"You seem to know the criminal minds so well," I asked with mock implication. He shrugged smirking.

It was a while before we said anything though the silence was anything but uncomfortable. The only time we did talk was when I asked if I could play the stereo.

"Sure, just put the CD back in its exact space. The CDs are all arranged according to year and musical preference and I'd hate to see you at the receiving line of one of my fits," he chuckled, remembering what I suppose was an inside joke.

"Geek," I muttered quietly under my breath.

"Hey! I heard that!"

"Well it is kind of true," I shrugged, sheepishly.

"Look who's talking,"

"Whatever Edward," I rolled my eyes. I picked an album case with no cover art and inserted the disk into the slot to play.

"Clair De Lune?" I gasped at his choice of music. It wasn't the type of music I could imagine him listening to. I pegged him for an Old school rock type or even an RNB guy as much as I hate RNB. Would anything about Edward Cullen ever cease to amaze me?

"You know Debussy?" he asked, shocked as well.

"Not well," I admitted. "My mother plays a lot of classical music around the house. I only know my favorites,"

"It's one of my favorites too," he admitted reluctantly. "Just don't tell anyone I said that or Dylan's not gonna let me live that one down,"

"Fine but as long as you don't tell anyone that I was holding that frying pan last night,"

"Deal," he agreed, using the full effect of his crooked smile on me and my breathing just about stopped. Damn that smile should come with a warning.

I internally chastised myself. If we were going to have this talk properly then I should stop noticing all these little things about him that kept distracting me. The inevitable conversation we are about to have is already enough to make me run to the mountains without me doing something remotely embarrassing.

Listening to Clair de Lune helped me calm my nerves but when I looked at the windows, I can't help but notice we were already out of town. My nerves came back exponentially.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Someplace where I like to think,"

"You're not going to kill me are you?" I asked suspiciously. I was only joking but there was a small part of me, a very small part that was afraid of him. I'm usually good at reading people but Edward was an enigma I couldn't figure out which led me to believe I was right about multiple personality disorder theory.

All I got from him was a laugh. He turned to an unused road, increasing that very small part of me that was fearful for my life. I clutched the armrests of my seat when he stopped at a dead end. My heart was pounding in my ears when he got out of the car and walked to my side of the door.

He burst out laughing when he saw me as he opened the door. I frowned at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You really thought I was going to kill you?" Edward burst out between his laughter. "You should have seen your face," he doubled over on his laughter while clutching his stomach.

"It's not funny," I grumbled, red-faced. His response was even more laughter.

I got out of the car and angrily stomped past him. He grabbed my wrist to stop me.

"Bella where are you going?" he asked still laughing.

"I'm going home since we're not going to talk because you're so busy laughing," I glared at him.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I promise to behave," he said trying to control his laughter. I roughly pulled away my arm back and resumed my trek home. He ran to catch up to me, this time grabbing my wrist more firmly.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you. I'm sorry," He said more sincerely, this time without laughter.

Angry tears poured down my face no matter how hard I try to stop them. I duck my head down to hide it but he saw it anyway.

"Oh God you're crying. Bella I'm really, really sorry. Please don't cry. Here you can punch me if it makes you feel any better," I would have laughed at his obvious phobia at seeing girls cry. Instead, I curled my hand into a fist– thankful that Emmett taught me self-defense– and punched him right in the gut.

He clutched his stomach, this time in agony, as he cursed under his breath. "Fuck, I didn't mean it literally!"

"Maybe you should have taught of that before you laughed at me," I said while wiping my tears. He didn't say anything anymore, whether from anger or from the pain– I didn't know.

"Are you okay now?" I asked after a little while, the guilt creeping up to me.

"Man you got a right hook! Are you part Amazon or something?"

"You're forgetting Emmett's my brother,"

"Oh yeah I guess that explains it," he muttered.

I bit my lip in shame. "I'm really sorry I punched you in the gut,"

He smiled, straightening up and wincing. "Nah, it's okay. I deserved it anyway… I think," he added as an afterthought. He started walking towards the opposite direction, the one with the dead end.

"Where are you going?" There was nowhere to go from here except to turn around and go back.

"We're going hiking," he said matter-of-factly without even looking at me.

"We're going hiking?" My voice reached up an octave. "But there's no trail," Thank god I wore tennis shoes.

"Who says we're going to take a trail?" he said and I gulped even more. "You're not scared are you? I would have thought someone who could punch like you would be at least physically fit," he teased.

"I am physically fit," I cried stubbornly.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm not a good hiker. In case you haven't noticed, I'm good at finding something to trip on without loose rocks or leaves getting in the way," I admitted.

"You'll be fine. I'll help you through the way. I promise," he said and surprisingly I believed him.

"You're going to have to be very patient," I warned him.

"I can be patient if I make a great effort" he smiled.

I smiled back at him and then sighed. "Well if you're going to hack me through this jungle before sundown then I suggest let's get a move on,"

"You sound so excited," Edward quipped sarcastically. I rolled my eyes.

"Just lead me the way," I grumbled at him. He laughed but started walking east from where we parked the car. The hike surprisingly wasn't so bad. The way was mostly flat and Edward was careful to point out tree roots that I might trip on and clearing out ferns or branches for me along our way. When our path took us across boulders or fallen trees, he would help me, lifting me by the hand and releasing me when it was clear. My heart would beat erratically when he did and I was thankful that he couldn't hear it. I'd be mortified if he did.

The hike took most of the morning and I was thankful I had a heavy breakfast. We made small talk along the way–mostly me badgering him about when we'd get there.

"We'll get there when we get there," he said finally annoyed. "Don't you see the lighting ahead?" he pointed in front of us. I squinted my eyes but didn't see anything.

"Nope can't see it,"

"Maybe it's a bit soon for your eyes,"

"Time to visit the optometrist," I muttered. He laughed at that but as we continued our journey, I definitely saw the lighting up ahead, a glow that was yellow instead of green.

I stepped into the last fringe of ferns at the edge of the pool of light into the most breathtaking meadow I have ever seen. It was almost a perfectly circular meadow with jade-green giant-like trees creating a barrier around it. The meadow was decorated with abundant purple, white and yellow wild flowers– truly a gardener's heaven. I could hear the stream just beyond the opposite side of the trees across the meadow and it has the most spectacular view of the Olympian mountain ranges. I could only dream of what's it's like to see this place during sunset, it would be even more dazzling than it is now.

"Do you like it?" Edward asked from behind him and I could just imagine him smirking.

"How did you find this place?" I breathed.

"We used to go camping all the time and I found this place when I needed the alone time. Maybe you haven't noticed, but living with Alice could get annoying sometimes," he chuckled.

I walked to the center of the meadow, lightly touching the flowers with my fingertips and lied down in the soft grass, the sun seemed to shine for once but not so much that it's blinding. I looked up into the white sky and felt my mind at peace for the first time.

I almost forgot Edward was here and I only remembered when his shadow blocked the sun from my face.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a slight awe that I didn't understand.

"When I was young I used to love lying under the sky just watching the clouds," I explained to him. He smiled and lied down beside me, a foot apart.

"You're right, it is amazing," he agreed after a while. There was once again a comfortable silence between us, something that seems to be happening lately.

"I think it's time to talk," Edward started seriously after a while of silence.

"You're right," I sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

"How do you feel about this arrangement?" he seemed to have a hard time finding a word that could describe our situation just as I do.

"Honestly? I'd rather cut my wrist than be married," From my periphery, I saw his face contort into an expression I have never seen on him but that I knew all too well– hurt. I quickly back-tracked.

"It's not because of you, I promise. It's just that… the idea of marriage, isn't something I'm gonna be ready for anytime soon," his face seemed to relax for a bit but the hurt was still there.

"I know what you mean," he finally said. "But why did you agree?"

"Who told you that?" He wasn't there when I came home and told everyone I'll follow through the arrangement.

"Dylan told me this morning. Shey told him," Of course.

It was a while before I answered and he seemed to understand that I needed the space when he didn't prod me to answer.

"Did you know that 156,783 children around the world die because of leukemia every year?" I asked quietly. He shook his head in response.

"Well it's true and most of these children are between 3 to 12 years old. Do you know what's so screwed up? They hadn't even had a chance to live yet and fate suddenly throws them this curve ball while there are more evil men out there who deserve this kind of punishment. How unfair is that?"

"I know it's unfair but it's life, Bella. We can't change that no matter how much we want to," he said softly.

"That's why I agreed to marry you," I said bluntly, not dancing around the issue anymore.

"What?"

"Claire," I answered his bewildered gaze.

"Who's Claire?"

"She's one of the sweetest most adorable little girl I have ever met," I smiled fondly just at the thought of her.

"Okay… but what does she have to do with us?"

"She has leukemia," I stated gravely. "She's at a stage where the signs should have been obvious; nausea, pale sallow skin, lack of appetite and most of all, her strength should have been deteriorating. But she's not. She's happy and vibrant and so full of joy. Her father works all day and night just to sustain her at the hospital and what kind of a person would I be if I destroy the one and only thing that's keeping her alive? It wouldn't feel any different if I killed her myself," I shook my head from my thoughts.

He was silent after that, taking everything in. We watched the clouds moving in the sky in silence. Time always seem to fly when I'm with him, and today was no different.

"That was very noble of you Bella," he said after a while. "But I don't know if I can be as noble as you,"

I froze and the sudden reality of the situation hit me. Marriage involved two people and I was foolish to think that this was only my decision to make. It didn't matter if I agreed to this whole mess or not, if Edward is solely against it. I could sacrifice anything for Claire but I couldn't–in good conscience– ask Edward to do the same.

I was lost at what to say.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say and he seemed to understand the words I couldn't say.

"It's fine. My head is just jumbled right now that I don't know the answer,"

We didn't say anything for a while and I continued to enjoy watching the skies as it turned into the early afternoon.

"Bella, promise me something?" he stated all of a sudden.

"What is it Edward?"

"Promise me that we'll be friends no matter what comes next?" I sat up so fast that my head spun. I examined his face and saw the sincerity there. I was glad to know he already thought of me as a friend and I smiled.

"I promise," I laid back down again and enjoyed cloud watching with my friend. I felt lighter knowing that even though we're in this mess, he wasn't mad at me. I felt comfort at the fact that I had an ally through all this, an ally who could really understand me because he was in the same situation as I am. I felt so comfortable that I fell asleep.

What do ya think? You know what to do :)