A|N:I'm sorry this is so (extremely) late! I haven't been feeling myself lately and lost all inspiration I had for this story, but I've gotten it back, and chapter six (hopefully seven as well to make up for my lack of updating) should be up by Thursday at the most.

Also, I've started a new story. One Lonely Brown Eye is up on Twilighted under this same penname (JacksonRobKellan) and if you're interested, you should go take a look! I'm thinking about putting it up on here as well.

DC: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANYTHING DEALING WITH THE SERIES!

Chapter 5: Edward Cullen

A week later, I had made up my mind to go, and my bags were packed. I was going to become some man's wife to prevent my parents from becoming homeless. I was packing my bags to leave when the doorbell rang and I froze. My heart began to beat faster and harder, but I chided myself in my head and forced myself to calm down; I didn't know it was her, so there was no sense in jumping to conclusions.

"Bella, I need you to get down here, please!" Charlie yelled to me from the bottom of the stairs.

I sighed, and my shoulders slumped – no room for doubt now.

Ms. Hale had told us the same day my dad I found out about Edward picking me that she would stop by sometime during the upcoming week, I just hadn't expected it to be on a Monday.

I walked down the stairs and saw Ms. Hale and my dad standing at there. Ms. Hale held a black briefcase in her hand, and I already knew what was inside. I walked slowly down the last step, and we stood around awkwardly staring at each other.

"All right, we should get this done," Charlie said, clapping his hands softly and smiling

He turned on his heel, leaving Ms. Hale and me alone. "Well, he seems… happy," she muttered dryly.

"He's ecstatic," I agreed with a scowl on my face.

She looked at me sympathetically but said nothing else, so I headed for the kitchen, with her hot on my heels. When we got there, Charlie was sitting at our round kitchen table, and we both took a seat on opposite sides of him.

"Mr. Swan, as I informed you before, Edward has chosen Isabella to take as his wife, but that doesn't really matter, as everybody in this deal has to be a willing participant and not going against their will," Ms. Hale said, staring pointedly at Dad and then me. "Isabella, have you decided to go through with this? Please understand that you don't have to."

I stared at my dad with pleading eyes, but all he did was glare, promises of being kicked out of the home clear in his eyes. I sighed before nodding my head. "I've decided to go through with it, Ms. Hale. It's for the best."

Ms. Hale looked between the two of us for a moment before sighing herself and placing her briefcase on the table. She opened it and stared at my dad. "He picked her because he enjoyed the information packet he received on her, and she was the healthiest." Ms. Hale pulled a large, thick, orange envelope out of the briefcase before closing it and placing it back on the floor. "In this packet here, I have all the things you two will need to sign: prenup, marriage license, and the contract stating that you both agree with what is being done and that no law enforcement agencies will be contacted. Also, there is an affidavit confirming that Isabella is at least eighteen year of age."

As she talked, she pulled out the papers and pointed them out as she named them. She handed Charlie the contract and a pen, and he signed it immediately, without reading over it, and handed it to me. I took the time to read it carefully before signing it; next came the prenup.

"The prenup is just to ensure that if this doesn't work out, Isabella will not leave without her possessions or money to take care of her. It also states that the money given to you because of this marriage will have to be returned within six months of the marriage failing – if it fails at all," Ms. Hale explained.

I read over the prenup and nodded to her to let her know that I understood. If the arrangement were to fail, I would be able to leave with whatever I walked into the marriage with, whatever clothes and jewelry I got during the marriage and twenty thousand dollars to ensure that I was taken care of. As Ms. Hale mentioned, the money given to my dad would have to be given back. I signed it with a shaking hand and slid it back across the table to her.

"And the marriage license," she told me softly as she slid it over to me. "It was drawn up by a friend of ours, and its legality and legitimacy can't be disputed should any outside question it."

My hand trembled as I moved the pen to the dotted line. I looked up at my dad, just for one last plea, but all he did was shake his head from side-to-side. There was no backing down now. I signed my name and handed it back to her.

"And we're done," she announced.

"That's it?" I asked in surprise. I don't know why I thought there'd be more or it would take longer.

Ms. Hale nodded her head. "That's it. He would like you out with him as soon as…"

"She'll be there within a week," Charlie said, cutting her off. "When does the money get deposited into my account?"

"Within a week," she said coldly. She turned to look at me, and her eyes softened. She gave me a soft, sympathetic smile. "I'll be seeing you, Isabella."

"Bye, Ms. Hale," I said.

Dad stood up and walked her out, and I ran back up to my room, locking the door behind me just in case he decided to come up there and talk more about this.

There was nothing I wanted to say to him.

"Edward," she said icily.

"Mom, what in the God's name are you doing here?" he asked, sighing tiredly.

"Well, son, I was just checking my email, waiting for your dad to get home, and you know how I just love to follow the latest celebrity gossip, right?" I winced slightly when I realized where she was going with this. "And you know – much to your dad's annoyance and amusement – that I subscribe to all the magazines and even pay an extra two dollars so I can get my information before the magazine even hits the stands. How shocked do you think I was when I saw all these well-known lawyers and politicians and such gathered at La Italian tonight, and my son happened to be there with his wife?"

"I'd say very shocked," I whispered when she looked at me and arched her eyebrow, obviously wanting me to answer her question.

"Very shocked," she agreed. "And there's footage of said wife at the Starbucks not too far from here, confirming that this lady is indeed my boy's wife! And then I come over to his house, and when he gets home, she's here and with a two-karat ring on her finger."

"I imagine you were very pissed off, Mother," Edward said.

"Oh, very much so!" she cried, tears pooling into her eyes. "Why would you keep your getting married a secret from me? Did you not trust that I would be able to keep it quiet, or is this all a scam or something?"

"It's not a scam!" I snapped. My hands flew to my mouth, and my eyes widened in shock while the both of them looked at me in surprise. "I – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, Mrs. Cullen. It isn't a scam, I assure you. We really are married, and I am so sorry that neither of us came and told you. We were both hoping that we would be able to tell you before anyone else found out."

She excused my outburst with a nod of her head and stood up from her stool. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? That you were hoping to tell me before others found out? I mean, Emmett and Rosalie know for heaven's sake!"

"Mom…"

"Tomorrow is Sunday," Esme said, cutting off whatever her son was going to say. "We usually have the whole family over on Sundays but tomorrow it will just be the four of us: Bella, you, your dad and me."

"Mom, I don't think…"

"I know you don't think, no need to inform me," she snapped. "I raised you, didn't I?" She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she grabbed the purse that was sitting on top of the island and headed out the kitchen and to the front door. "I expect you at our house at eight as always, Edward."

Edward and I stayed where we were for a few seconds, letting what just happened sink in, before I stepped forward and then turned to face him. "Looks like I'll be meeting the in-laws tomorrow, huh?"

He nodded. "I'm sorry about that. I was hoping the introduction would be smoother than that."

"Oh, I liked this way much better. Your mother hating me is exactly what I wanted, Edward."

"There's no need to be sarcastic," he hissed.

I shrugged and began to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you need something?"

"You have to forget about what happened tonight."

"Forget about what?" I asked in confusion, though I was sure I knew what he was talking about.

"You're a smart girl, Bella, don't play dumb," he growled out. "I'm talking about what happened at La Italiana. That kiss was a mistake, and we should both just forget about it."

"A mistake," I repeated. I scowled at him. "You're the one that initiated the kiss, you know."

"I know that, and I'm sorry. I regretted it as soon as I did it," he said.

I watched him walk away, a little hurt because I actually didn't regret anything.

~MOB~

Waking up the next day, I was a nervous wreck. I had dinner with the parents on the brain. Esme already seemed to not like me, but I'd say it was only because Edward and I kept our marriage secret and not because she just didn't like me.

After changing into a pair of shorts and slipping on a Hollywood Undead t-shirt, I headed downstairs and toward the kitchen. Edward was sitting at the island, once again only in a pair of basketball shorts, sweaty from his run.

I averted my eyes quickly when he turned suddenly, probably feeling my stare, and headed for the refrigerator, deciding to make some breakfast. Cynthia didn't work on weekends, and it didn't look like Edward would be cooking.

"Morning, Isabella."

"Do you want French toast and some eggs?"

"Um, no, I'm going to eat Apple Jacks…"

"Oh, that sounds good!"

I made myself some cereal and sat across from Edward, avoiding his gaze.

"Are you…upset with me?" he asked, confused.

I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Do I have any reason to be upset with you?"

"I don't know. You're the one acting all cold toward me," he said, on the offensive.

I rolled my eyes. "I offer to cook you breakfast and suddenly that makes me cold? I'll remember that the next time you want me to cook something for you, all right?"

I stood up to leave, but before I could get past him, he grabbed my arm, the same as he had last night. "Seriously, what the fuck did I do?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you, Edward. I surely don't want you regretting having to listen to my problems," I snapped, snatching my arm from him and walking away.

Before going to bed, I had told myself I wouldn't say anything. I wasn't going to bring up his words and let on to how much they had affected me, but in the end, I couldn't help it. When I made it to my room, I put my bowl on the nightstand and fell face first on my bed, groaning.

"It hasn't even been a week, and I'm already trying to kiss all over him," I mumbled to myself.

The rest of the day went by slowly. For the most part, I stayed in my room, so I had no idea what Edward did the whole day, but I was pretty sure he gained at least five pounds, what with all the trips I heard him taking to the kitchen.

By the time I finally decided to stop sulking, I realized it was eight-ten. I sat up in a panic and rushed to the bathroom. By the time I had managed to wash, dry and curl my hair, the clock read eight-twenty, and I knew we had to leave right away.

"Bella, my parents live twenty minutes away!" Edward yelled through the door, banging on it. This had been his third trip to get me.

"Rushing me won't make me go faster!" I yelled at him. "You're just making me panic more. Go away! Go wait in the car. I'll be there in a minute."

I threw on a red dress that stopped just above my knees, slipped on some black heels and placed the top half of my hair, the part I managed to curl, into a ponytail, letting the bottom half, which was straight, fan out over my back and shoulders. I rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping as I went, and ran out to the garage, practically diving into Edward's car.

"My mother is going to kill me," he muttered, pulling out of the garage and closing it.

I snorted. "If she's killing you, then she's going to murder me. I'm the reason we're late. Crap! I forgot my purse."

"You don't have anything valuable to put in there anyway, so it's fine."

"Gee, Edward, how nice of you to say!" I hissed. "And you wonder why I'd have any reason to be upset with you, right?"

He sighed. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant you don't have a cell phone or anything like that."

I opened my mouth to say something, but I thought better of it and just looked out the window. It was nine by the time we made it to Edward's parents' house, and I had a feeling Esme wasn't going to like me for causing us to be an hour late to her dinner.

"Are you ready to go in?" Edward asked me, parking in the driveway of their home.

The house wasn't as big as his, but it was still huge compared to what I had grown up in. Edward rang the doorbell, and at the sound of footsteps, my arm circled around his and I stood behind him slightly.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"I'm trying not to get murdered by the woman that's going to answer the door!"

"Those are my dad's footsteps. After years of hearing them, I'd recognize them anywhere," he explained, probably sensing my questioning gaze.

"Oh, I see now. I used to be the same way with my mom's footsteps."

The door opened just then, cutting off whatever Edward was going to say, and I stepped behind him just a little more. So far, the biggest crowd I had ever been in front of was ten thousand people. That was no problem, but the thought of meeting two new people had me suddenly terrified.

"You're an hour late," a male voice said.

I peeked from behind Edward's shoulder, and a tiny gasp escaped from between my lips. The man who I was assuming to be Edward's dad was tall, blond and beautiful. He also looked really young, maybe somewhere in his mid-thirties.

"And who's this lovely lady, hmm?" I heard him ask.

Edward moved to the side to reveal me and then took a step behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Dad, this is my wife, Isabella."

I found myself blushing, and I gave him a small, shy smile. "Mr. Cullen, it's…"

"Please, family calls me Carlisle. Unless you're one of my children, then I'd have to take a belt to your backside if you called me Carlisle," he said, grinning.

I snickered and took his offered hand. "Hi, Carlisle, it's nice to meet you."

"As it is you," he said. "I have to tell you honestly, I never thought I'd see my boy here settle down. It's amazing to me how he refused to have girlfriends ever and then suddenly has a wife."

"Dad…"

"I'm just sayin'. Your mother and I always thought you might have been gay and just too scared to tell us. We would have loved you…"

"Dad!" Edward yelled in disbelief. "My God, you all thought I was gay?"

I placed my hand over my mouth to keep the giggles at bay and looked between the two of them, my amusement growing as the seconds ticked by as Edward's cheeks turned redder and redder.

Carlisle shrugged. "Well, you never, ever wanted a girlfriend when you were a teenager, and then as you got older, you never wanted a girlfriend, either…"

"I had girls, but I didn't want a girlfriend! Why didn't you two just ask me? I could have cleared this up long ago and not have had this conversation in front of my wife."

I shook my head. "Oh, no, I'm actually glad we're getting this all cleared up now."

Edward narrowed his eyes at me, and I turned away while Carlisle laughed. "Isabella, it is so very nice to meet you. I should let you both in now before Esme gets us all."

"Let's eat," Edward agreed.

Upon entering the house, I was overcome with a sense of home. It felt like home to me. Walking down the hallway to get to the main part of the house, there were two walls worth of pictures – images of Edward, Emmett and Alice as children to ones of them grown up.

"Wow. When I first met Emmett, I didn't take him as the veterinarian type, but I can see it now. He's like a big teddy bear," I said, smiling at him with a dog he had helped.

Edward nodded and bent down a little to get a closer look as well. "Yeah. That's been his goal since he was, like, seven. I think our entire fucking family flew out for that graduation and on the day he got his job to take him to dinner. We'd never seen him grin so big or so long."

"That's nice," I said.

Edward and I straightened up at his mother calling us, and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Are you ready?"

I nodded. "Does it really matter, though?"

"No."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into his parents' dining room. The table we would be sitting at was filled with different foods, and if I didn't know better, I'd had said Thanksgiving came early there was so much. A crystal chandelier lit up the room, casting diamond shapes in random spots on the wall.

Carlisle was at the head of the table and Esme was on his right side, and they both had smiles on their faces, though Esme still looked a little upset, which was understandable.

"Isabella, we are so happy to have you here finally and you are so very welcome here," Esme told me.

I smiled. "Thank you, Mrs.…"

"Esme," she said firmly.

"Thank you, Esme."

"Let's eat," Carlisle said, staring at the food with an intensity that gave me the impression he hadn't eaten all day.

Esme laughed and after saying grace, we all dug in.

"So, how did you two meet and where?" Carlisle asked.

"We met in Las Vegas," I informed them.

Esme's eyebrows shot up at that. "Really?"

"Yes. Bella's a dancer," Edward said.

"Oh. Well, um, we don't judge in this house. You had to make ends meet somehow, right?" Carlisle asked rhetorically, nodding.

"Oh, I didn't make much money off of it. I did it all for the enjoyment. The competition was fun, too. It pushed me to work harder," I informed them.

"Did you perform a lot?" asked Esme.

I nodded. "Yeah I did. The biggest crowd I've ever performed in front of was at least ten thousand people. That was in Las Vegas where I first met Edward."

"Edward was in the crowd, then? How…coincidental," Carlisle said hesitantly, giving me a small, awkward smile.

I opened my mouth to say something to that, but Edward's sudden laughter cut me off, and we all looked at him in confusion. As he tried to calm himself, he took a sip of his Coke only to start choking on it as his laughter did not subside.

I frowned and patted his back, and he nodded at me in thanks. "Are you all right?"

He snorted. "Oh, God, you don't see it at all."

"See what?" I asked him in confusion.

"Edward, please, stop laughing and just tell us what is going on," Esme said, though it was more of a demand than a request.

"Bella was a dancer for the Port Angeles School of Arts. She was a competitive ballerina and all that shit," Edward explained to his parents. He turned to look at me with clear amusement in his eyes. "Bella, my parents think you're an exotic dancer from Las Vegas."

My eyes widened slowly as his words sunk in, and I suddenly found myself laughing just as much as he had been. "Oh, dear God; I-I guess I should have realized that mistake."

Carlisle and Esme joined in on the laughter, and it took us a few minutes to calm down, all the ice clearly broken.

"So, if you didn't meet at a club like Carlisle and I first assumed, where exactly did you two meet in Vegas?" Esme asked, looking curiously between the two of us.

"Oh, um, we met at the mall," Edward answered casually, taking a sip of his drink.

Esme snorted before covering her mouth in surprise, eyes widening a little. "Oh, excuse me. I just found it hard to believe that Edward was in a mall. We basically have to have a gun to his head to get him to go out."

I giggled at this newfound information, and Edward rolled his eyes. "I am not that difficult to take shopping. I'm just not going to pretend that I like it. Anyway it was Vegas. I was wandering around and ended up in the mall…and I tripped over Bella's shopping bags."

"Oh, Edward, babe, I'm sure your parents don't want to hear that tiring story," I said, smiling at him, though I pinched him on his thigh.

He jumped slightly. "But everyone always says it's such a cute story we might as well tell them."

"Please! I'd love to hear it," Esme said, nodding encouragingly.

Edward grinned wickedly at me, and I rolled my eyes. "Yes. He tripped over my bags, and then he yelled at me."

"I didn't yell at you!" he protested, looking horrified that I would say such a thing in front of his mother. "I just not-so kindly told her to move her fuckin' bags outta the way lest she want anyone else tripping over them and spilling their shit or breaking them."

Esme gasped, but I continued on before she could say anything. "And a few other things that weren't very nice. I offered to buy him some coffee and walked back to Starbucks then."

"Did he get your number then?" Carlisle asked.

Esme and I rolled our eyes. Men. "No, he didn't. He ended up buying both of our drinks for us. I told him that if he was going to end up buying his own drink, he should have just gone and done that in the first place instead of being an asshole and walked away," I said.

"And I chased after her and apologized. I explained to her that I had been having a bad day and hadn't meant to take it out on her. I offered to make it up to her by taking her to dinner," Edward pitched in.

"He got my number then, Carlisle," I said, giggling when I saw him about to open his mouth to ask.

He and Edward shared a fist bump then while Esme just shook her head in exasperation, but there was a smile on her face as well.

"So, Isabella…"

"Family calls me Bella," I said.

Esme grinned at me and nodded. "So, Bella, how did your parents feel about you running off to Las Vegas to get married?"

"Um." I squirmed in my seat a little, trying to recall all what Emmett and Rosalie had told me in the kitchen. I looked over at Edward for help.

He cleared his throat and took another sip of his Coke. "Well, uh, her mother didn't mind, but her dad basically hated me."

Carlisle and Esme both gasped in surprise. "And why would he hate you? Edward, what did you do?"

"Oh, no, he didn't do anything!" I assured them, remembering. "My dad just didn't like us together because Edward is four years older than me. He threatened to pull me out of my school if I continued dating Edward, but we couldn't afford it anymore anyway, so I did. We stayed in contact and met again in California. My dad was super pissed off then and made all kinds of threats." I shook my head in sadness. I didn't have those memories, but I had the memories of my dad selling me, and they brought emotions that worked here. "My mom just wanted me to be happy and follow my heart because that's the kind of woman she is, so Edward and I snuck away in the middle of the night to get married. I went home a few days later, and my dad tried to do everything he could to keep me there, but in the end he kicked me out, which was fine since I was moving here with Edward."

"Oh! You poor thing, that had to have been horrible," Esme cried, reaching across the table to grab my hand. "I'm at least happy that you had two people who loved you on your side through all of this." She smiled over at Carlisle, and he grinned back. "We had the same problem with Carlisle's family. Well, almost the same. His parents didn't like me. Rich man falls in love with poor girl, and it is Armageddon all over again."

I shook my head and snickered.. "You come from old money, don't you, Carlisle?"

"With that storyline? Of course," he said, laughing. His pager went off then and he jumped up. "I'm sorry to cut this dinner short, ladies and gentleman, but I have a patient to get to. I'll be home soon, okay?" He kissed Esme and she nodded.

"Yeah, okay." She smiled up at him.

"Patient?" I asked in confusion.

"Surgeons never sleep," Carlisle told me before rushing out.

I looked at Edward questionably, and he shook his head and opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by Esme.

"Bella, I couldn't help but notice that you only took a couple of bites of your dinner. Do you not like it?" she asked me, concerned.

The question caught me off guard, and I looked down at my food, t-bone steak and fettuccini Alfredo, and said the first thing that came to mind. "I made Edward and myself a really big breakfast this morning, and I'm still full from it. Edward just happens to eat like a monster."

Esme laughed loudly as she stood up to take my plate. "Oh, dear, I know exactly what you're talking about! He gets that from his dad. He, Carlisle and Emmett all eat like it's going to be their last meal or like it's been five years since they've eaten."

I chuckled. "Oh, I've seen it with my own eyes, Esme. I thought that as soon as I saw Carlisle." Esme laughed all the way to the kitchen, leaving me and Edward alone. I took a sip of my soda and refused to meet his suddenly unhappy gaze. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me, Bella. You know what. You hardly touched your cereal. I don't think that can be considered making the two of us a 'big breakfast,'" he said.

I shrugged. "I just didn't want to tell her I wasn't hungry. Everybody always makes a big to-do out of it."

"Maybe because it is a big to-do!" he whispered. I turned my head to look at him, and his eyes softened. "Bella, your dad told me about…that."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "He told you about what, Edward? Don't answer that. There isn't anything to tell. I just wasn't hungry, now can you drop it?"

He had no choice but to drop it, because Esme walked into the room just then. She smiled at me. "Bella, I put your food in a container in the refrigerator. You can get it before you and Edward leave."

"Thank you, Esme. Again, I really am sorry that Edward and I didn't tell you we were getting married sooner. It all happened so fast and then…"

She shook her head, waving her hand in the air. "That doesn't matter. You are married, and I can't change that, not that I want to. I just hope that the next time something life-changing happens, I'm told before OK! Magazine knows, okay?" Edward and I both nodded, and she grinned, clapping her hands lightly. "Now, Edward, why don't you give Bella a tour of the house? Show her your old room and all that while I clean up."

"Esme, I can…"

"Nonsense, you two go now. I don't have that much stuff to do."

Edward stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me with him, and began walking out of the living room. We headed for the stairs, and I chuckled as I thought about his room. "You weren't obsessed with anime or anything when you were younger, were you?"

"Of course not," he said, sounding offended, as he opened the door. I looked between him and his room for a few minutes quietly until I could take it no longer, and the laugh I'd been trying to keep quiet escaped from between my lips in an almost maniacal way. "I don't know why you're laughing. This shit was awesome. Stop mocking me!" he complained when my laughter turned into obnoxious snorts.

"You were a Star-Lord freak," I said between snorts, taking in all his Star Wars and Lord of the Rings posters, books and… "Nice dolls, Edward."

"They're action figures!" Edward snapped.

"I'm sorry. That was so uncalled for." I managed to keep a straight face for about two seconds before I was laughing again. Edward rolled his eyes and sat at his desk chair, and I fell face first on his bed. "I'm kidding, Eddie-boy. Lord of the Rings was awesome, and Star Wars was pretty cool. I've never seen the beginning of it."

Edward grinned at me. "We'll watch it tomorrow night. Maybe order some pizza or something."

"That would be nice," I told him honestly, smiling.

After that, Edward told me about every action figure he had, every poster and every book. He explained why certain ones were his favorites and why he should've thrown some others away a long time ago.

"Who is this?" I asked him when he finished speaking, picking up a picture of him standing with another man and a woman – both were middle-aged and the woman had the same hair color as Esme and him. "They look a lot like you…"

Edward snatched the picture out of my hand. "She's my mother. He isn't important."

"She's your mother? But Esme…"

"Obviously isn't my mother if I just said she's my mother!" he snapped. "Esme is my aunt," he whispered.

I sat on the edge of his bed and watched him quietly, seeing his face go through a number of changes before I finally spoke up. "So, um, where is she?"

"She didn't fucking abandon me if that's what you're thinking!" he shouted at me.

My hands flew up in the air in surrender. "No, no, that's not what I was thinking at all! I just want to know where she's at, Edward."

"She's with my step-dad back in Chicago. Her name is Elizabeth, and she's Esme's older sister," he explained to me.

I nodded my head. "So, the man in the picture is… your dad?"

Edward nodded and dropped the picture carelessly into his desk drawer. "He's my dad, and I would rather not talk about either of them right now. Can we move on, or are you going to ask more personal questions?"

"I'm sorry that I want to know more about you, Edward, but there's no need to attack me. You know what? I am not sorry that I want to know more about you. If we're going to be married, I think I deserve to know these things!" I hissed back. "Or maybe you're regretting 'marrying' me, too."

"God is that what you're upset about?" he asked me in disbelief. "You're the one who brought up not wanting to have sex or anything of the sort!"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm not upset over that."

"Then why the hell do you keep bringing it up? First you mention it at breakfast, and now you're talking about it again. Why are you stuck on that?"

I glared him. "I'm not stuck on that, Edward. I just… You… Never mind. I'm going to go help Esme clean up. Come and get me when you're ready to go." With that, I walked out of his room and rushed back down the stairs, nearly crashing into Carlisle. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

He shook his head. "It's my fault, too. We're both obviously rushing too much on these narrow stairs. So, I'm sorry as well. I forgot some things here."

"It's okay," I told him and moved out of his way so he could continue running up the stairs. When I got back to the dining room, everything was cleaned up, and as I made my way to the kitchen, I noticed everything was cleaned up there as well. Esme was just putting water in the sink to wash dishes. "I can do that."

She turned to look at me, a small smile of relief on her face. "Are you sure? I feel dead on my feet, but…"

"I'm positive. It's what I am used to anyway. After my mom would cook, I would clean up and vice versa," I told her, smiling as I took her position at the sink.

"When's the last time you talked to your mother, Bella?"

"Um, a few weeks, give or take. I know when I left we weren't exactly on speaking terms because I refused to work it out with my dad," I said.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Esme told me, sounding completely sincere.

I shrugged. "It's all right. I'll talk to her again eventually – she's my mother." We sat in silence for a while as I washed the dishes and contemplated asking Esme about her sister. I didn't see why I couldn't ask about her. I was sure there was a reason Edward refused to tell me more about her, but it was not like I was going to ask what that reason was. "Esme, can you, uh, tell me about Elizabeth?" When she didn't say anything for a long while, I turned around to look at her and noted the surprise on her face. "Esme? I'm sorry. I…"

She shook her head. "No, no, it's fine. I'm just surprised by the question is all. Edward hasn't told you a thing about her?"

"I didn't even know she existed until I saw a picture of her today! Apparently, there's still a lot I need to learn about Edward."

Esme nodded. "Elizabeth is my older sister. She lives back in Chicago now with Edward's step-dad. When she left, she was in a very bad place and so was Edward. Edward was always like one of ours, so we took him in immediately with open arms and no questions asked. I think anything else will have to come from Edward."

"I understand. Can you tell me what Edward was like as a kid?" I asked her, moving on to drying the dishes.

Esme grinned at me. "Edward… He was an unbelievably smart kid. He was just a little know-it-all, but he never shoved that in people's faces. You've seen his room, right? He's a big Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fan. He had trouble making friends, but his brother and sister saw to it that he had some, and I know he appreciated that. It was Emmett's determination to include Edward in everything that got him his best friend Jasper, who is now Alice's boyfriend and an eternal part of our family." She shook her head and chuckled. "He never had trouble with girls, surprisingly. I mean, we thought he didn't like girls at all, but it was obvious he didn't have trouble. I caught him more than once trying to… get intimate with a girl. Did you notice how squeaky his mattress was?"

At her question, I threw my head back and laughed loudly. I had noticed how squeaky his bed was. "That was you?"

She laughed, too and nodded. "I had Carlisle go out and look for the squeakiest one he could find. There would be no fooling around in my house."

I snickered. "So, Edward was a nerd that still managed to get some? That's great." Esme and I laughed and talked more about Edward and his childhood when he walked into the kitchen, eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked between the two of us. "Hi, Edward."

"What's so funny?" he asked.

I snorted. "Why are you looking at us like we're planning world domination? Esme and I were only talking about this cute, furry little thing named Mr. Fluffykins. She was just telling me how she was sure it was still up in your closet somewhere and that she'd go get it for me."

Edward's eyes widened in horror, and he looked over at his mother in disbelief; he looked as if she had betrayed him in some way. "Mom…"

"What? I already explained to Bella that it was perfectly normal for a fifteen-year-old boy to have a stuffed animal. The fact that it was a unicorn is a little weird, but no one thinks any less of you! Certainly not us, at least," she said, trying to stop her own giggles from surfacing.

"Ma!" he complained, and his Chicago accent was suddenly very noticeable and thick. "You really just said that!"

"Edward, we don't judge in this household," I said in a mock-serious voice. "You're no longer the scary business man you once were, but we're certainly not judging. If you want to be a fifteen-year-old boy with a stuffed unicorn, be my guest! If you want to dress up as Princess Leia for prom because you so foolishly thought it was a costume party, more power to you!"

"You didn't!" Edward yelled.

Esme threw her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing, but that seemed to only make her laugh louder. She shook her head. "I-I d-didn't. S-she s-saw the p-pictures," she stuttered out between laughs.

I held onto the counter and clutched at my stomach as I went down, laying my head on my knees as I laughed just as hard as Esme. The information I had, plus the look on Edward's face was priceless.

"Gah! You showed her the picture?" he screamed. Esme and I both looked up in time to see his cheeks turning a tomato red, which started up the laughter ever more. Edward groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Ah! Stop it, stop it now!" He stormed out then, causing even more laughter from the two of us.

~MOB~

The ride home was silent, save for the soft purr of Edward's car, and a small smile graced my lips the entire way. When the garage door closed after we pulled in, the two of us sat there for a moment. After a good five minutes of silence, I made to get out the car when Edward's hand wrapped around my wrist.

I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry for, uh, hurting your feelings yesterday," he mumbled.

I snorted. "You didn't. I just couldn't understand why you were snapping at me when you were the one that kissed me."

"Still, I'm sorry. It would do you good to accept my apology. I don't do it often."

I rolled my eyes and snatched my arm away from him. "That information is duly noted, Edward. Thanks."

"My dad," he called out to me before I could slam the door shut. "He used to, uh, hurt my mom. That's why I didn't want to talk about them."

"Where's your dad now?"

"Dead."

"Oh." I bit my bottom lip and looked down, fidgeting with my hands. I didn't know what to say to that.

"Yeah."

Edward got out of the car then, and we headed into the house. "That's Edward Cullen for you: nerd, abuse victim, cross dresser and a stuffed animal lover."