EPOV
Emmett was sitting on a park bench toward the eastern edge of the park. He was shirtless, and there was a hole near the pocket of his khaki shorts revealing dark blue boxers ornate with precious, yellow rubber duckies. His hair was in complete disarray and there were smudges of dirt sporadically smeared on his face. He also appeared to be missing a shoe.
I highly considered driving past him. It was unfortunate that he had already seen me. He rose from the bench and jogged toward my car.
"You smell, man," I commented as he deposited himself into my passenger seat.
"Nice to see you, too."
"What the hell happened to you?" I shook my head, confounded.
"Dude, I have no idea…" he laughed.
"It's really not that funny. You lost your girlfriend and your vehicle," I said pointedly. "And your shoe."
"And shirt, apparently. I was really cold this morning," he was still grinning.
"Em, this really isn't that funny."
"Oh take a chill pill. I'll bet big money that Rose got annoyed with me and took my car and went home. She wasn't nearly as drunk as I was last night. I'm not sure why…"
"Do you remember anything?" I scowled.
"Yes. I remember leaving Tanya's shortly after you did. I remember getting to the park with Rose and then I was playing on the swing set. And then we…or, I… got out the bottle of vodka. That's when it goes fuzzy."
"You have a problem," I shook my head disapprovingly.
"Oh please. Just because you got into one accident you're suddenly the poster boy for responsible drinking."
"If you'll recall, I was never really a fan of getting trashed before, either."
"Before what?"
"Before I met Bella," the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.
"Oh. Wait; don't tell me you're going to start on the She makes me want to be a better person thing. That's so cliché," he rolled his eyes.
"First of all," I snapped, "She does make me want to be a better person. Second, my sudden disposition to drinking comes more from the fact that…I mean…" I was waving my hands around as if the haphazard gesture should explain it all. "Look what happened last night. People were drinking and Bella almost got hurt. Tanya was wasted and tried to…in the bathroom…and then," I was getting flustered just talking about it.
"Okay, okay," Emmett shook his head. "First of all, don't use big words like dispo…whatever. My head is killing me. And second, wait a minute. What about Tanya in the bathroom?"
"Ugh," I groaned, dropping my head onto the steering wheel so that my car let out one short honk of protest.
"No, no. You can't bring something like that up and then just…what happened?" Emmett pressed.
"I was going to the bathroom and she let herself into the bathroom and tried to…"
"Tried to what?"
I smacked my forehead into the steering wheel several more times, resulting in another three honks.
"Seduce you?" he finished.
"More or less," I allowed with a slight shrug of my shoulders.
"When did this happen in comparison to Bella's disappearance?"
"Just before, I think. I mean…I couldn't find her when I got out of the bathroom."
"Dude, do you think she planned for James to…you know,"
I looked over at Emmett, confused.
"I mean, the timing seems kind of…ironic. Tanya starts distracting you in the bathroom at the same time that Bella gets confronted by James."
"You think Tanya planned for James to…" I let the words falter as the wheels in my head began turning. "Would she do that?" I knew the answer before I asked. She would.
"I don't know, man. I would like to say that she wouldn't, but it is Tanya. Remember when she spread that rumor that Rose was pregnant with your kid? There's not much that she wouldn't do."
I gripped the steering wheel for several seconds, my knuckles turning white with effort.
"Can we stop talking about this? Bella and I discussed it last night and…that's that. It's over with."
"Yeah," he said quietly.
"Where am I taking you?"
"Rose's house."
"Okay."
I started the car and put it into gear. Emmett fell silent in the passenger seat for several moments before he suddenly shouted "Pull over! That's my other shoe! Pull over, pull over!"
I obliged and watched him scramble out of the car, increasing the size of the hole in his pants in his haste. I rolled my eyes as I watched him pick his shoe up off the top of the fire hydrant and hop on one foot as he put it back on.
"You're ridiculous," I shook my head dubiously at him as he climbed back into the car.
"What? I found my shoe! I found it."
I shook my head again as I put the car back into gear and pulled back onto the road.
"You wouldn't happen to have an aspirin, a bottle of water, and an ice pack handy, would you?" Emmett groaned, pressing his hands over his forehead.
"Bit of a headache there, buddy?" I chuckled unsympathetically.
"Yes."
"Nope. I had an extra water bottle and a bottle of Tylenol in my old car, but I didn't put it in this one yet," I shrugged.
"Figures. I'll get some from Rose," he decided, leaning his head against the cool window and finishing off the rest of the ride in silence until we turned down Rose's street. He picked his head up and squinted toward her driveway where, sure enough, his jeep was parked.
I pulled in behind it and he jumped out of the car and bounded towards the front door.
"Em!" I shouted as I opened my own door. He wheeled around to face me. "Don't you think her parents are going to be a bit suspicious about you showing up here in the state you're in?"
"They're on a romantic weekend getaway," he explained, applying the air quotes to his statement for added effect. "It's just Rose here."
I nodded my understanding and followed him up the sidewalk at a slower pace. He knocked several times on the front door and began bouncing around in anticipation.
"Anxious, much?" I chortled.
"No, man. I have to pee," he whined.
I laughed a little as I watched him leap awkwardly over the hedge, still dancing around in an attempt to distract his vodka-abused bladder. He knocked haphazardly on a window and in a moment the shades were wrenched apart to reveal a very tired looking Rose whom he had obviously just woken up. She rolled her eyes and shut the curtains, appearing a moment later at the front door. As soon as the door was opened, Emmett sped past her with a quick "Morning, Rose" toward the bathroom.
She stumbled a little as he passed her and shook her head, unsurprised. "Morning, Edward."
"Afternoon," I corrected her, consulting my watch to find that it was 2 o'clock.
She made a face that I took to be something along the lines of oh crap, I slept til 2? and beckoned me in. I followed her into the kitchen and watched as she took out two cups and a bottle of aspirin. "Would you like some water?" she offered without looking at me.
"I'm good," I refused politely.
She filled the two glasses with water and retrieved four pills from the bottle as Emmett walked into the kitchen.
"That was the most amazing piss in American history," he claimed with an air of pride.
I made a face and Rose groaned. "Super."
She pushed the glass and two pills at him and said "Here, moron."
"Awe, thanks baby," he said with an excess of enthusiasm. "You're so good," he put his arms around Rose's waist and squeezed her in a semi-sarcastic display of affection.
"You stink," Rose said matter-of-factly.
"But you love me," Emmett retorted in a sing song voice.
"Mmhm," Rose rolled her eyes a little and turned her head up to give him a quick kiss. "I'd love you more if you went and took a shower."
"Alright, alright," he groaned, downing the pills and water and heading back to the bathroom. I followed Rose out to the kitchen table where she lowered herself into one of the chairs and let her head loll backwards as she grimaced.
"How's your head?" I smiled.
"Probably better than Emmett's. I quit drinking long before him. He had a fifth more vodka than I did, I think."
I rolled my eyes.
"So," she slammed her hands down on the table with excessive force, wincing after she did so and pausing for a moment to allow her headache to subside back to a dull roar. "What happened last night after you guys left the party?"
I looked at her for a moment; her eyes were slightly bloodshot, but clearly imploring. I sighed and leaned back in the chair.
"I brought Bella back to my place."
"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Her truck was there," I explained.
"Was she…okay?" Rose's face was covered with genuine concern.
"She was a bit distraught," I allowed.
"She had every right to be. I swear, the next time I see James I'm going to junk punch him so hard he won't know what hit him. Any chance you know where I can get my hands on a testicle shocking taser?"
Despite the seriousness of the conversation, I couldn't help but laugh. Rose was always very…passionate about things like this. She was an extreme feminist and at any sign of a woman being repressed or taken advantage of, she was right there waving her facts in everyone's face.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"I…I don't really know. I apologized a lot and eventually she seemed to be okay. But she fell asleep in my lap in the car while we were waiting for Alice. It took her forever to get back home even though I thought she left right after us,"
Rose smirked and ducked her head down a little, avoiding eye contact.
"What?" I demanded.
"You missed the confrontation."
"What confrontation?" I narrowed my eyes questioningly.
"Just as we were about to leave, Alice stormed back in and started screaming at James and Tanya."
"What was she saying?"
"I don't remember. I was a little bit drunk. I do remember her punching him, though."
"She punched him?!" I gasped.
"She has a nasty right hook, your sister," Rose nodded approvingly. "Emmett was laughing so hard at it I swear he almost pissed himself."
I slapped my hand to my forehead and let it slide down my face. "I should've known that Alice wasn't going to let that go without taking it into her own hands."
"Yeah. If I had been more sober I totally would have helped her," Rose sighed regretfully. "Anyway, go on."
"Oh, um…" I frowned, trying to remember where I left off. "Oh. After Alice got home she convinced Bella to stay the night at our house instead of driving home. She ended up sleeping in my bed,"
Rose's eyes bulged.
"I took the couch," I held out my hands as if to halt her sudden assumptions. She relaxed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, gesturing me to continue.
"Anyway, she had breakfast with my family and then I followed her home because she was having issues with her truck."
"Did she invite you in?"
"…. I… yes," I allowed slowly.
"And?"
"And nothing. We just talked a little bit while she was making supper…and then your bonehead boyfriend called."
"Did you kiss her?"
I felt my jaw slacken as I looked at her dubiously. Rose and I had always been friends, but not this good of friends. She was being surprisingly nosy about this.
"You did," she concluded for herself. "How did it go?"
I shook my head quickly, dispelling her accusations. "Whoa, what are you-"
"You hesitated. Now I know you did kiss her so I need details."
"I…it was only a peck," I tried to wave it off.
"Pussy," she accused. "You should have went for it."
"I was trying to take it at her pace. After what I put her through the night before…she deserves that much."
"You didn't put her through shit," Rosalie corrected me. "Tanya put her through that. And trust me. Bitch will pay for that."
"Rose…please don't." I pleaded.
"Why the hell not?" she frowned. "She totally deserves it!"
"Rose…there's something you should know," I started.
"Whoa, am I interrupting something?" Emmett said as he walked back into the room, obviously only catching my last sentence.
"No," I leaned back in my chair and looked at him. "You should hear it too."
He frowned questioningly and took a seat next to Rose as I started. "Bella and I…we're not going to be public about this."
"About what?" Emmett questioned. "About…wait, so you're saying that there is…that you are…you're dating?"
Rosalie grinned.
I grimaced, "Technically?"
"Way to go Edward! Way to stick it to Tanya."
"No, hang on, hang on," I held my hands out in front of me again. "We're not going to be public."
Their faces fell simultaneously.
"What?!" Emmett groaned.
"Why?!" Rosalie shrieked.
"Well because of what happened yesterday," I shrugged. "She isn't used to that kind of attention and…I mean, obviously Tanya is more than capable of making bad shit happen to her if she wants to. I just don't want to put her in that position. And…she doesn't want to be in that position. I'm doing it for her. To protect her."
"You're an idiot," Emmett said simply, his face hosting a frown of disappointment.
Rose's face, however, had softened into an almost proud-looking smile. "That's so sweet," she half whispered.
"That's not sweet," Emmett argued. She punched him in the arm.
"It is sweet. Edward is making a sacrifice to protect Bella. It's admirable."
"It's stupid, at best," Emmett mumbled, followed by a sharp "Ow!" as Rosalie punched him again.
"Like you have any right to call someone else stupid after last night," she scowled.
He averted his eyes to the table and I raised my eyebrows in interest.
"Oh don't tell me you've forgotten it all," she looked between the two of us for an answer. I shrugged at her and Emmett remained silent.
"You don't remember taking off your shirt and trying to use it to zip line across the monkey bars?"
Emmett looked up at her, horrified. "No," he said in disbelief. I stifled a laugh.
"You don't remember pissing in the bird bath? You don't remember filling the squirt gun in your Jeep with vodka and squirting me with it?"
"Why didn't you stop me?!" he wailed. "That's a waste of vodka."
"You didn't seem to think so last night. You thought it was a brilliant idea because I was wearing a white shirt."
I let my head fall onto the table with a thud. Emmett looked mildly embarrassed, but also sheepishly proud of himself.
"Do you remember-?"
"Please no more," Emmett pleaded. Rose ignored him.
"-ordering pizza for that family of squirrels?"
"I did not!" Emmett argued.
"Check your recent calls, I'll bet you anything that the pizza place is on there. You left them a long message about how terrible it is of them to not be open when there are poor starving wildlife creatures that are in desperate need of a double cheese, pepperoni and sausage pizza with garlic crust."
Emmett looked incredulous, his mouth hanging open a little bit. Rose smiled and continued.
"There was also the twenty three verse love song for tacos. I recorded some of it on your phone if you're interested. And this, here," she pointed to a bruise on the back of her arm. "-is from you catapulting me off of the see-saw."
He winced.
"And then there was the phone call you made to Alice, telling her you wanted to have her babies."
"Are you serious?!" he groaned.
"No, that one didn't actually happen."
"Rose," Emmett groaned. "Not funny."
"Edward thinks it's funny," she argued, gesturing toward me as I had burst into a fit of laughter.
"I'm done drinking," Emmett said decisively.
"You said that last weekend," Rose said indifferently with a shrug of her shoulder.
We were quiet for several minutes, Emmett only breaking the silence with the faint but unmistakable sound of the taco song coming from his phone.
"I should get this published…er, recorded. This shit is good."
Rosalie rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to me.
"But anyway - how is that going to work? I mean…" she waved her hand as if that would ask the question for her.
'We just won't be public," I shrugged, assuming that she was back on track with our previous conversation. "Bella and I will just have to hang out on weekends and stuff, but as far as everyone in school will know, we just didn't work out."
"And at lunch?" Rose asked.
"I'll sit with you guys. Bella said she's fine with sitting alone. She's done it most of her life apparently," I could feel the sadness creep over my face as I said it and Rose looked sympathetic.
"What about Tanya, though?" Emmett mumbled as he shoved his phone back into his pocket.
"What about her?" Rosalie turned on him. "I'm sure as hell not sitting with her anymore. I never really liked her very much to begin with."
"Thanks," I smiled sheepishly.
"We'll sit with Edward and make it quite clear to her that she isn't welcome to sit with us," Rose continued.
"Works for me," Emmett agreed.
"Well, I don't know how you're going to do it. I would never be able to have a secret relationship. I admire you for the intention, though."
I didn't respond. I stared down at the table, studying the carefully polished grain in the wood. It took me several moments to become cognizant of the sudden silence at the table.
"Well," I said, placing my hands palm down on the table and pushing my chair back. "I suppose I had better get home."
"You're not going to the beach?" Emmett asked curiously.
"Beach?" Rose perked up and turned to Emmett questioningly.
"Jazz texted me a few minutes before Edward picked me up and told me that he and Alice were going to be at the beach today. I told him we'd meet them."
"That sounds excellent," Rose sighed. "Why aren't you going, Ed?"
"I don't want to run into certain people there…" I grimaced.
"Right. Well if I see either of them," she made a face. "I'll be sure to punch them in the baby-maker for you."
I mimicked her facial expression. "Yeah, thanks. I'll see you guys later."
"Bye," they both said together as I rose from the table and excused myself.
When I began driving again, it was with no real destination. I knew that Esme was out shopping for the day, Carlisle was at work, and Alice and Jasper were at the beach. The house was empty, but I had no real reason to go there. I drove through the town for a few minutes, making random turns and traveling down streets that I had never had reason to drive on before. Finally I pulled into an abandoned church parking lot and pulled out my phone.
BPOV
I'm really quite bored, now. The text message read.
I set down the book I was nearly finished with and began to reply. Yeah, me too. I had no homework this weekend.
Same here. He replied.
I hesitated for a moment before typing I would invite you back over here if you just wanted to hang out or something, but my dad is home now.
After several minutes with no reply I set my phone down and got up from the bed, figuring that he wasn't intending on responding. No sooner had I taken another step, however, and my phone buzzed.
Do you think I should introduce myself to your dad?
The question confused me. He had already met my dad the night we had gotten into the accident. Plus, my father was quite fond of Dr. Cullen, so it's not exactly like they were strangers. I was halfway through with my response when he texted again.
As your boyfriend, I mean.
My heart plummeted directly into my stomach. I hadn't thought about that. That was traditional, wasn't it? For the boyfriend to introduce himself to the girls father? Or was it the girl who was supposed to introduce the boyfriend to her father? I wasn't sure. The most knowledge I had on dating came from my books, and those were all set in the 1800s.
How would Charlie react to Edward being my boyfriend? He hadn't seemed too awfully pleased with any discussion about him earlier in the week for some unknown reason. I didn't want him to be rude to Edward. That would be both embarrassing and terrifying on my part. I knew, though, that Charlie had to know. We might be able to fool the school into thinking otherwise, but Charlie was my father and he had a right to know. Besides that, I was certain that Charlie finding out I was dating Edward Cullen would be much more tolerable than Charlie finding out I had been secretly dating Edward Cullen without telling him for however long.
Why were relationships so difficult?
Probably. I don't know how he'll react, though. My mouth and throat were becoming dryer and dryer by the second and there was an entire circus of butterflies inhabiting my stomach.
I'm sure it will be fine. I'm pretty good at diffusing parental anxieties.
I couldn't help but smile at the way he had worded it. Okay. We're having dinner at 6:30 if you want to just come over then. I can tell him that I invited someone to dinner.
That's perfect. I'll see you in an hour and a half.
I looked at the clock to find that it was already 5. I guess I had subconsciously known that as Charlie had just returned home and 5 was the time he usually got back from his weekday shifts.
Slowly I descended the stairs, figuring out in my head exactly how I was going to tell Charlie that Edward was coming over.
"Hey, Bells," he greeted in a gruff voice as I entered the living room. Just as I expected I would find him, he was reclined in the chair with a beer and the remote in hand.
"How was work?" I started hesitantly.
"Fine. The most exciting thing that happened today was some woman needing to be physically removed from the Newton's store because she was somehow convinced that Mrs. Newton was sleeping with her husband."
"Was she?" I asked impulsively.
He didn't seem to mind. He shrugged, still looking at the television, "It's not my job to find out. Molly claims that the woman was crazy, though. It doesn't really matter one way or another."
I nodded once and began pulling at the hem of my shirt. "So, about dinner..." I started.
"Yeah, it smells really good, Bells. When will it be ready to eat?"
"Oh, um, around 6:30. But…is it okay if I invite someone else over for dinner too?"
At that he looked up from the television. His expression was a mixture of surprised, pleased, and nervous. "Who?"
"EdwerClen" I mumbled inaudibly.
"What?" he asked, cocking his head toward me.
"A friend," I said softly.
He raised his eyebrow questioningly at me and finally shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. "Yeah. That's fine."
Relieved that he had submitted without as much questioning as I had expected, I escaped back up to my room where I sat studying my closet for the next hour.
I finally settled on a pair of khaki sand-diggers and a light blue blouse. It was very plain and not at all interesting, but it was all I really had. I wasn't one for shopping and at the library I was allowed to wear jeans and a sweatshirt if I wanted to. I didn't have very many nice clothes.
I brushed my teeth and hair several times and applied an extra layer of deodorant, just in case. About 20 minutes after six I ran downstairs and started taking the roast out of the oven. I was quite satisfied with how it had turned out. Usually I didn't really care that much about the quality of my meals. Charlie would pretty much eat anything. Today, though, I had someone else to impress.
Charlie eyed me suspiciously as he came into the kitchen to get another beer. He took in my outfit and raised his eyebrows at me before sitting down at the table.
"So who exactly are we having over for dinner, Isabella?"
I flinched as he used my full name. I opened my mouth to respond, but shut it quickly as I heard the crunch of gravel in the driveway. The butterflies that I had almost forgotten came back with a vengeance. I gripped the counter to steady myself for a moment before bringing the three plates I had just prepared over to the table, paying careful mind not to let my hands shake too much.
"Bella?" he pressed, staring at me expectantly.
I heard a car door slam outside and I looked at Charlie nervously. "Please, be nice," I pleaded quietly.
His eyebrows pressed together over his eyes and he opened his mouth to question me further. He was cut off, however, by a knock at the front door.
"I'll get it," I whispered, setting the third plate down and rushing to the entryway, stumbling once or twice in my haste.
"Hi," I said quietly, the slightest hint of apology in my voice as I greeted Edward. He was also dressed in khaki pants and a button up shirt. I bit my lip as I took in the sight of him standing on my doorstep with his hands in his pockets.
"Hi," he replied.
"Come in," I swung the door open and he joined me in the entry way.
"Good God that smells delicious," he grinned.
I smiled back feebly.
"What's wrong? You look scared to death."
I raised my eyebrows a little as if to say "Gee, I wonder why," and jerked my head toward the kitchen. Edward reached out and grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting it drop and gesturing me into the kitchen before him in a very gentlemanly fashion.
Charlie didn't look the least bit surprised as I entered the kitchen with Edward. On the contrary, he looked as if he had been expecting it.
"Edward," he nodded once.
"Good Evening, Chief Swan," Edward greeted happily, following me over to the table where he took the last remaining seat.
An awkward silence weighed down the atmosphere as we all stared at our plates for a moment. Charlie was the first one to pick up his fork. Edward and I followed his lead.
"This is really good, Bella," Edward said softly after another several minutes of only the sounds of forks scraping on the plates.
"Yeah, Bells," Charlie mumbled in agreement. "One of the best roasts you've ever made."
"Thanks," I said quietly.
I suddenly noticed that I had forgotten to get Edward anything to drink.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you, um…do you want a Coke? Or…water?"
"A Coke would be fine, thank you." He flashed a brilliant smile at me and Charlie made a noise that resembled something half-way between a cough and a hiccup.
Another uncomfortable silence resumed after I had gotten Edward a drink. It stuck around until almost the end of dinner when Edward finally began to make small talk.
"Before I forget, my father told me to give you his regards, Chief Swan." Edward smiled.
"Oh, right," Charlie nodded twice. "How is Dr. Cullen doing?"
"He's doing well."
"And your mother?"
"Just fine, thank you. She's getting ready to go back to school to get a degree in psychology, actually."
"Is she? That's…that's great," Charlie nodded again.
"Dad, there's something…"
"What?" he cut me off. "Do I have some roast in my mustache?" He ran his hand over his mouth and inspected it, looking for any left behind food.
"No, that's not….I mean," I faltered, feeling my face blush scarlet. I knew that the sooner someone brought it up, the sooner we would get the pinnacle of awkward moments out of the way.
"Chief Swan," Edward interjected, giving me a reassuring glance. "First of all, thank you for having me over for supper tonight."
"Oh, I…yeah," Charlie mumbled quickly. "You're welcome." He stood up from the table suddenly looking very uncomfortable. He grabbed my plate out from in front of me and Edward's plate from in front of him and took them to the sink and began to wash them. I gave Edward a wide-eyed grimace as I watched him. Charlie never did dishes. Never. Not since I had moved in.
"Tell your mom and dad that I said hi," He said to the wall, seemingly dismissing Edward from our house.
"Dad," I said nervously.
"Second of all, Chief Swan," Edward said loudly, catching Charlie's attention. He stopped scrubbing the plate that was in his hand and slowly turned the water off, turning around to look at Edward expectantly.
"Dad, I'll do the dishes later. Come sit down and relax," I insisted.
He looked at me for a moment and sighed, returning to his seat.
"Chief Swan," Edward continued. "The reason that Bella invited me over here tonight was so that I could tell you in person that your daughter and I are now a couple."
I winced internally and slowly brought my eyes up to meet Charlie's. Surprisingly, his face held no emotion. He was silent for several immeasurable seconds before he leaned forward and dropped his chin into his hand, resting his elbow on the table. He looked back and forth between Edward and I about four times before he let his hand fall to the table with a thud.
Then he shrugged.
"Fine."
"Fine?" I echoed dubiously.
"Can't say I didn't expect it," he grumbled. "But you listen to me Isabella Marie Swan. No going to parties and no drinking. Just because you're dating Mr. Popular-pants over here," he gestured toward Edward, "Doesn't mean you get to throw your morals out the window. And if you get pregnant you're going back to live with your mother, you understand?"
"Dad," I hissed, feeling the color drain out of my face.
"You don't have anything to worry about, Chief Swa-"
"Oh for God's sake, Edward, call me Charlie!" he growled, pushing away from the table and retrieving another beer before he headed toward the living room. Edward and I sat quietly for a moment until the sound of the television picked back up.
"That went…" Edward hesitated.
"Much better than I expected," I finished.
"I think that was his cue for me to leave, though…" Edward frowned.
"Probably," I agreed.
Edward stood up from the table and walked toward the living room. "Thanks, again, Chief - er, Charlie. Goodnight,"
"Mhm," I heard Charlie grumble indifferently.
"I'll walk you out," I chuckled.
He followed me to the door and out to the porch. I realized with a nervous pang that this was the second time in one day I had found myself standing with Edward on my front porch. It was already dark out, this time around. There were crickets noisily alerting us to their presence from every direction, but we ignored them.
"Thanks for having me over for dinner," he grinned.
"Thanks for…telling him for me."
"I kind of figured it was the least I could do after all the crap you've been through for me in the last two days."
I sighed and shook my head.
"So, I'll see you in school on Monday?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Well…technically,"
"Technically I'll ignore you all day on Monday. But I'll still get to see you."
"Yeah," I suddenly felt a pang of guilt as I realized how much trouble I was putting him through,"
"Listen, Edward, I guess it's not really necessary for it to be a secre-"
He silenced me by placing his finger on my lips. I gulped at the contact and stared into his troubled eyes.
"It is necessary. It's necessary for me to make sure that you are as comfortable as possible. You deserve that after last-"
"Stop talking about last night," I interrupted him. "It's in the past. Don't worry about it."
His eyes softened and he squinted at me a little. It looked like he was about to say something, but then his shoulders relaxed and he sighed in resignation.
"Goodnight, Bella."
"Goodnight," I echoed.
This time as he leaned forward, I planned on meeting him halfway. We both froze, though, our faces only inches away as the porch light flickered off and then back on."
"That's my cue," I whispered.
"Mmm," he groaned.
"See you Monday," I said quietly, stepping toward the door.
He walked down the porch steps and turned back around. "Do you want to come over to my house after school on Monday?"
I smiled and nodded enthusiastically. His face broke into a huge grin. "Goodnight," he said again.
I smiled back at him and opened the front door, letting myself slip quietly back into the house. I expected to see Charlie standing near the door waiting for me, but he was no where to be found. I thought for a moment that the porch light may have just flickered on its own accord, but then I noticed a half-full beer can sitting on the window ledge next to the front door.
I picked it up and carried it back into the front room with me.
"Here, Dad," I said in a mock accusing voice as I pushed the can into his vacant hand.
He stared at the beer can for a moment and a light blush crept into his cheeks as he realized his failed attempt at being a peeping-tom.
I turned around and headed toward the stairs but he stopped me before I made it out of the room.
"I meant what I said about you getting pregnant,
I rolled my eyes, "Goodnight, Dad."
OMG, I'm taking so long to update lately. I'm sorry I'm sorry.
This chapter was kind of short and possibly a little bit fail, but the next chapter is going to cover a lot more.
I'll update within two weeks this time. I PROMISE! SEND ME HATE MAIL IF I DON'T, KTHNX.