I have to thank my a fantastic trio of friends for helping me with this: m0t0b33, teamalltwilight and Pyejammies! ;)
As always, I don't own anything Twilight related or anything else you might recognize in my story. I DO own the idea.
We'll just call them Hot Mama and Jailbait. :) Check the pictures in my FB group: Addicted-to-romione-bedward Fanfiction (link on my profile)
Bella's POV
I'm so glad Edward took the initiative and convinced Kitty to separate from some of her cats. My allergy was making me suffocate.
While they're gone, dropping the cats at the clinic, I air the house and dust every surface before I decide to prepare our lunch – early dinner.
When the front door opens, I brace myself for the mood Kitty will be in, because we kind of threw her companions away. She has only two cats left – the oldest of them.
"She really takes care of you, doesn't she?" I hear her whispering.
I don't hear Edward answering so I tiptoe to the kitchen's doorway.
"I was so worried. I thought she'd throw you to the curb after Carlisle died. I never expected Isabella to be such a wonderful woman. I should apologize, huh?"
How can she think so little of me?
I could never hurt Edward, in any way. I love him too much.
He sees me eavesdropping and his face falls – I bet my emotions can be read on my face.
"You should," he tells Kitty. "Bella's amazing." His green eyes bore into mine.
She gasps and turns to me. "Isabella, sweetheart, I never thought you could be such a sweet girl. Because you were so much younger than my son, I thought you had other…intentions."
That stings.
Because one bitch would do that, it doesn't mean every younger woman is after an older man's money.
"I truly loved Carlisle. Still love him," I tell her through the lump in my throat.
She comes to me and for the first time since I met her, she hugs me and means it – a real hug.
When we step away from the hug, I don't see Edward around. It was probably too much for him.
Boys…
Kitty goes to change her clothes and wash her hands before we sit to eat, and I go to get Edward.
He's in the guest room's bathroom, washing his hands. There are many tiny scratches all over his arms. Poor guy.
"Do you need any help?" I offer.
"Nah. Crazy cats."
I can see he's withdrawn for some reason. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Carlisle in front of him – it's still a touchy subject.
I walk closer and wrap my arms around him, hugging him tightly. "You know you have me if you want to talk about anything." I look up at him, running my hand over his back.
He gulps loudly. "Yeah. Thanks, Bella." He pushes me away throwing me a small smile. "I'm hungry."
"Of course you are."
While we eat, Kitty tells us about what she's done since we last saw her. I don't know if she realizes it but she mentions Carlisle a lot, mostly comparing Edward to him.
Oh, you're just like your father.
I remember my Carlisle doing that.
Now you're the man of the house. You carve the turkey.
Do you want another cookie? You got a sweet tooth, boy. Just like my poor Carlisle.
I have no idea how much more can Edward take it.
I see his jaw clenched, but he doesn't say anything. It's admirable.
During dessert, Kitty suggests we should do the thankful for part. I was hoping we'd skip it.
"I'll start," she decides. She takes our hands and squeezes them. "I'm thankful for my family. You couldn't have asked for a better mother in your life," she tells Edward, smiling at me.
I feel my heart bursting in a marathon. Suddenly Kitty's all sweet with me and I can't say I don't like it. She never spared me the time of day.
I clear my throat, keeping my hands in theirs. "I'm thankful for being part of this wonderful family."
When Edward doesn't say anything, I nudge his leg under the table. He shrugs. "I don't have anything to be thankful for. Nothing is right," he mutters and gets up then disappears out of the kitchen.
I sigh heavily, expecting a tantrum after Kitty's words.
"He'll be okay," I tell her.
We clean around, make coffee, pack leftovers, talk more than ever before.
Later in the evening, I decide to check on Edward, hoping he has cooled down.
He's not watching TV which is a shock.
I find him in the guest room, on top of the bed, thumbing through his phone, a scowl on his face. So he's not calmed down.
I go and sit next to him. He spares me a glance before focusing on his phone. He's playing NFS, probably having withdrawals from when I beat his ass.
"Stopped gossiping with the enemy I see," he mutters.
"What?"
"You heard me. I thought you didn't like Grandma. She apologizes and now you're her best friend."
"But she is really sorry. And I told her not to mention Carlisle again. I know it hurts you." I touch his arm.
"Only me?" he whispers. "Not you too? Bella, I'm not deaf. I hear you crying at night. It's okay to miss him."
"You've heard that?" I gasp.
He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, but…" He gulps. "Have you thought of…finding someone else?" His voice is so small I barely hear him. Actually, I'm sure I'm hearing things.
He couldn't have just asked that.
"I think I made it clear enough that I still love your father, as for finding someone else…I don't know. Funny you ask that. Kids don't usually accept another parent easily," I muse.
"Not now…in the future… Not a parent…"
I don't understand him. "Edward, my Dad told me when I was fifteen that the woman I thought was my friend and just someone who was helping us with the house was his girlfriend. From that point I resented her."
"How old was she?"
"Around his age. Why?"
"Oh." Edward shrugs. "Just curious."
"I'm not telling you that I will never be with anyone else because when I met your dad I was set to work on my career not even thinking of having a relationship – especially such a complicated one." I shake my head. "He was married, he had a kid and he was fifteen years my senior. Definitely not the kind of guy I was accustomed to dating, but love is blind."
"So you're not into older guys?" he asks curiously, a light appearing in his eyes.
"I wouldn't say your dad was old, but yeah, he was the only exception. I usually dated boys my age or a few years younger. Why? Are you going to set me up with someone?" I ask suspiciously.
He laughs nervously, his ears turning red. "No, Bella."
Yeah, right.
"Back to your grandma. Don't judge her, okay? She's just proud of you." I stroke his hair, moving it out of his eyes. "Now, scoot over, I need to look over something on my laptop."
"Are you a right sider?" he asks, cocking his head to the side.
"Sorry?" I frown, bending to take my laptop out of the travel bag.
"On which side of the bed you sleep?"
"Right, you guessed."
"Damn. You'll have to do with the left."
"Edward!" I snap playfully. "Move before I decide to tickle you into submission."
His eyes widen and he's on the other side of the bed in a minute. We do our things in silence until Kitty knocks on the door and peeks inside then laughs.
"I was wondering if you knew where Edward was," she whispers.
"He's playing," I tell her, glancing at him only to see his head on his shoulder. He's sleeping. "Oh."
"It was suspiciously quiet," she says amused.
"Yeah, I should have known. Did you need anything?" I ask, closing my laptop.
"Just wondering if you knew where he was." She nods to Edward. "He was pretty upset earlier."
"He's okay. Don't worry."
"Well, I'm turning in. Good night."
It's a little past eight, but she's old so yeah. "Okay. Good night, Kitty."
I decide to take a shower then wake Edward or just go and sleep on the couch myself. He will never fit on the small furniture.
When I get out of the bathroom, he's gone from the bed. I find him on the couch, watching TV. He doesn't look like he's awake.
"Hey, why don't you go and sleep on the bed? I'll take the couch."
"No way. You get the bed – like always."
"Hmm…how about we share?" I whisper. The bed's pretty big.
"What?" Edward shouts, his eyes widening.
"The couch is too small. Don't be stubborn. The bed's big, I know. We won't touch."
A few protests later, we're under the same blanket. Because it's still early, we just talk for a while until my eyes close. Edward seems to realize I'm about to fall asleep because he mumbles good night and turns around.
During the night we drift toward the middle of the bed. There's no other explanation of waking up in his arms, spooning and feeling something suspiciously hard poking me in the small of my back.
I squeeze my eyes, wondering why my stomach muscles tighten and I feel warm inside.
What the fuck is wrong?
This is Edward behind me!
It's true I miss feeling a man's touch and having some fun, but this is beyond rational thought.
I can't be feeling such things for him! He's my step-son!
"No," I whisper to myself as I become aware of his thumb on my bare stomach. My traitor nipples harden and that's my cue to jump out of the bed.
I peek behind me and see Edward flopped on his back, a smile on his face, snoring. My eyes drift from his face lower…to the tent in the blanket.
No, Bella!
Stop thinking of him like that!
I decide to make some coffee and stop thinking ridiculous things.
So Bella just discovered some feelings buried deep inside her.
If you're interested, I posted my FAGE entry - it's called Holiday Romance. ;)