Hello Sister, Goodbye Life

Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight saga. All recognisable characters, content or locations belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Warning: Adult themes. Language.

Author's Note: So, well, my reason for updating so soon is entirely justified. At least, that's what I'm telling myself. So, I start school in six very short days - f. m. l. and, so, I'm updating as quick as I can. And, even though I've only got, like, half of sixteen done and a quarter of seventeen, I couldn't really care. Fact of the matter is, I will have no life after the six days - no more sleeping in past ten, no more late nights facebooking, fanficing, youtubing, movieing and yada yada yada. My summer break is nearly over :( and I'm about to start one of the two most important years of my schooling life. No pressure. None at all. So, anyway, my writing will probably,, hopefully, slow down when I start school and maybe, porbably not, I'll start focusing on school. The more logical reason for my updating is, of course, I've been anticipating posting this chapter ever since I finished it somewhere around the time chapter 9 or ten was posted. So, please, let me know what you think of this chapter.

Oh, and, of course, thank you guys sooooo muuuccccchhhhh for the reviews! We broke the 200 mark, and the only thing I'm sad about is not seeing it on 200.

Rest, relax, read and review! x

Chapter Fourteen

Bella Swan

Edward was fumbling for his words as I did up the buttons the rest of the way up my shirt, his eyes still firmly on my now covered chest. As creepy as the action would've been if it were anyone else, I was truly flattered due to the fact that he found my chest that appealing.

I neared him until our chests were touching and I was staring up into his beautiful green eyes. They were dark with desire and part of me thrilled at the thought that it was I who put the desire there.

His hands found my hips and he pulled me close to him until there was no space between us, his lips descending upon mine hungrily. My hands found his hair and his arms wrapped more securely around me, one tightening around my hips and the other sliding up to cradle the back of my head as his tongue danced with mine. He held me so close it felt like we were merged as one, breathing as one, hearts racing at the same beat. We were one entity in that moment, as he held me securely in his arms. I fitted their, in the perfect contours of his muscled arms and torso.

In that moment, as sparks surged through my body, igniting from where our skin touched, I realised what Alice had meant, what my parents had meant. Edward was the one. He was the one for me, there was a connection between us and there were sparks. Maybe it wasn't necessarily love at first sight but considering I was having an emotional meltdown minutes after I'd first seen him, could one blame me?

We sprang apart like we were hot coals when the doorknob to my bedroom door began to rattle. Edward's hair was more dishevelled than usual and I had no doubt that mine wasn't much better, though a part of me revelled in the puffyness of his lips.

He pulled open the door to see Eva holding out the alphabet book she'd been looking at earlier. I doubted that she could actually read what the letters were, but the sight of her trying anyway was endearing.

I helped Edward settle his children into their carseats an hour later and after one more kiss – a chaste one, this time – he climbed into the driver seat of his Volvo and ignited the engine. I waved once and watched him leave the house and drive down the street until his headlights were out of sight.

Rosalie ambushed me first thing the next morning as I was climbing out of bed. "Sooo? What happened? Did anything interesting" she drew out the word, so I knew she was up to something, "Happen yesterday?"

"Maddie had a bad dream, Eva's going to be a reader when she gets older and, yeah, that's about it."

"That's it?" She repeated. "That's it? Bella! We intentionally leave you two alone – with your children asleep – to, I don't know, release some UST or something! God! You're so dense!"

"I do not have UST, thank you very much. How old am I? Sixteen?"

"Belllaaaa! You haven't been laid since... James Modan. God, you were twenty one. Crap, have you dated since you were twenty one?"

"Nup. I've been busy with law school and then Charlie and Renee died and now I'm a full time mother. Where the hell did you expect me to squeeze in time to get a good orgy. Really, an orgy was not worth my law degree."

"One night, Bella, one night."

I returned my attention to my laptop and the reports I had to write up, leaving Rosalie in a huff. After five minutes, she realised that I wasn't going to budge on the matter and rose, headed out to the backyard to do who-knew-what. Even though I hadn't "been laid" in five years, I found that I was in no rush with Edward. Yeah, he left me wanting more every time he kissed me like he had the night before but I was okay with waiting for the right moment. Blurgh. I sounded like a virgin. Damn Rosalie for putting thoughts of sex in my head.

Maddie's cry braught me back to reality and I slid my laptop off my lap, moving to sit down next to her on the blanket I'd set her on with some toys. I pulled her into my arms and held her until her crying stopped and she was tugging at my hair.

"Ow, Maddie, that hurts," I chastised, prying her fingers from their vice grip around my hair. I couldn't wait until she was old enough to play with her own hair – it meant she could leave mine alone.

"Momma momma momma momma momma," she began chanting, bouncing on my lap. "Momma momma momma momma."

I gritted my teeth and sucked in a deep breath. The "momma" thing was getting really old, really fast. Closing my eyes, I bit back a snarky comment – lined with several curses – and tried to focus on my happy place where Maddie was being cared for by her actual parents and not by her sister who could hardly look after herself, let alone a two year old. Ha! Who was I kidding? My 'happy place' was making me feel like shit.

Grumbling all the while, I decided just to set her down for a nap. Just as she dozed off, a text from Edward informed me that he was outside my front door. Thank God.

I prayed to god that he didn't have his kids with him. As much as they were adorable, I was having a bad day and was walking a very tight rope in regards to my temper. To my delight, his kids weren't with him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, he wrapping them around my waist and we just stood there, in my front doorway, embracing. I soaked in the feeling of his embrace and the outdoorsy smell of him. I felt him press his lips to the top of my head and smiled.

"Sorry," I whispered, releasing him and taking his hand instead, leading him into the living room. "Rough day." He sat down and pulled me into his arms sideways so most of me was leaning against his chest, my face in the crook of his neck.

"Why's that?"

I shrugged my open shoulder in reply, tracing circles into his chest with the fingers of the same side hand. "Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess."

"Where's Rosalie?"

"She's in the backyard having a tantrum." I rolled my eyes. "She's angry with me for not doing what she wanted, is all. She'll get over it. Maybe then, she'll stop sticking her nose into other people's business."

He didn't ask me what she was doing, a fact I was rather relieved to find out about. I was in no mood to find out how awkward a conversation about your friend trying to get you to have sex with your boyfriend would be when directed at said boyfriend.

We sat like that for a long while, just comforted in the knowledge that we were in each other's company. Edward was truly an amazing man. In comparison, I seemed like I was a whiny little brat who didn't get what they wanted. Maybe I was just that. I certainly didn't get the life I was planning for. Hell, being a mother was not in my immediate (or distant) future. I was planning on being one of those workaholics with a steady partner – definitely not committed in marriage, anyway. Just a longterm boyfriend, a good job and no commitments or responsibilities aside from bills. Now I was committed to Madeleine and she to me and maybe now I was committed to Edward. Now, at this point, even though we'd only been officially dating for six weeks, I couldn't see my future without him.

It was disconcerting, knowing I'd become dependant on this one man in the span of six weeks. I'd been in the process of slowly giving him my heart and I was so close to plunging – falling – into the depths of love – how cheesy – that it scared me. I'd tried to picture my life without Edward and his kids, without the Cullens and the mere thought nearly sent me hyperventilating. Was it wrong to rely on one (or maybe three) person (people) so much? Was that what love was – complete dependance on one person? What did that dependance entail, anyway?

It didn't seem so. I didn't know what love was, though; I was no love guru or whatever. But complete dependance for one person – utter faith that said person will do everything – didn't seem right. Nobody was perfect: people made mistakes.

I read in books and watched in movies, that love was about sacrifice – Lily Potter loved her son so much that she gave her life for him – the ultimate sacrifice. Romeo and Juliet died for each other – more of that ultimate sacrificial stuff. Darth Vadar died for a son he hardly knew. Let's not even get started on Titanic. Rose risked her life – more ultimate sacrifice – to rescue the love of her life from a sinking ship. Symantics aside, all the movies and books showed that love was all sacrifice, ultimate or not. Juliet Capulet was willing to face her father's wrath - and her banishment – for the love of her family's rival and her "one true love" Romeo Montague.

If that was the case and love was about sacrifice, was I willing to sacrifice whatever I had to, for the love of a man I'd only known six weeks. Yeah, I'd take a bullet for Rosalie anyday but I'd known her practically my whole life but Edward? I'd grown to hunger for this man like no other man before him, to cherish every moment I had with him.

"Bella?"

"Hmmm?" I replied, shaking myself of my reverie.

"Where'd you go?" His emerald eyes were twinkling with amusement and he had his lopsided smile on his face.

I blushed, gnawing at my lower lip. I hated being caught spacing out. I felt exposed and vulnerable when not in reality, but had no way of controlling it. I had a tendency to wonder off, in company of other's or not.

He leaned down and pecked my nose and I couldn't help but grin at the tender act before returning it in kind. He snorted, undignified, and I rolled my eyes.

With another kiss from him onto my forehead, I let go of the last shreds of my heart and sighed, burrowing closer into Edward's chest, shutting my eyes. I'd given my whole heart to this man. I didn't know if that meant I loved him. I didn't know what love was, after all. I loved the feeling of freedom and home that this man gave me, of comfort and safety and silent promises that everything'd be okay. Maybe that was love, I didn't know. Maybe love was knowing that this man was my future. Maybe.

"Bella?"

"Hmmm?"

He sucked in a breath and let it out and I felt it fan across the top of my head. "Never mind."

Renee had described love as completion. I felt whole with Edward. It was then, in that moment, as I sat in Edward's arms, safe and comfortable and warm and free, that I realised what love was. Edward was the, my embodiment of love. He was safety and comfort and freedom and home and exhileration and completion and love. He was Edward, he was everything I'd ever read or watched or been told.

I lifted my head up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Opening my eyes, I gazed up into his beautiful almond eyes and smiled.

"What?" He asked, smiling too.

I grinned. "I love you."

He smiled at me, a blindingly happy smile that made my heart soar. "I love you, too."