Morning, Lovelies!
This chapter is unbeta'd. Thank you to Jill for prereading!
Chapter Four
Edward woke up feeling cramped. He didn't typically move that much in his sleep, but he'd spent the whole night holding Bella on the bottom twin bunk and willing her not to fall off the bed. His body was aching and tense, and as they rose for the day, he let out a long groan.
"Fuck, that bed is small." Bella winced, stretching once she was on her feet.
Edward nodded in agreement.
"We may have to submit to the bunks," he told her, cringing as he rolled his neck.
Bella sighed.
"We'll see," she said, and Edward could tell based on her tone she has some scheme in mind. He looked up at her, but she was turned away from him.
He stood from the bed, groaning.
"I might have to join Mum and Dad in yoga this morning," he said, grunting through stretching out his arms.
"Mm, yeah, that's a good call," Bella agreed. She left the room, presumably to use the restroom, and Edward rolled out his muscles a bit more. By the time Bella came back, he was feeling slightly better.
He took his turn in the toilet, taking every movement he made as an opportunity to stretch a little more.
He finished up quickly, and when he stepped out, saw Bella leaving their room. He joined her on the way down to the kitchen, desperate for a cup of tea.
Downstairs, Charlie was just leaving for work. He offered both of them a stiff head nod before scuttling out the door. Bella watched her father leave in amusement, then turned her attention to the kitchen.
Edward got the kettle going while Bella pulled out fixings for coffee and tea.
By the time the water was boiling, they were joined by Carlisle and Esme.
"Good morning, Darlings," Esme said, coming around to kiss Edward's cheek before moving to kiss Bella's.
"Morning," they said back.
"How did you sleep?" Bella asked as Carlisle and Esme sat at the little kitchen table.
"Oh, just fine. And yourself?"
Bella glanced at Edward, who was still wincing slightly. "We're all locked up," Bella provided, looking back at the Cullens. "We fell asleep on the bottom bunk and it jacked us up."
Carlisle winced in sympathy. "It's such a lovely morning, we were thinking about doing our yoga outside," he provided. "Would you care to join us?"
Both Bella and Edward nodded. "Yes, please," Bella said, pouring them cups of hot water. They took them, fixing their tea at the table with sugar Bella had pulled out. She made a mental note to help them source some dairy-free milk options as soon as possible. She set to work on making a cup of coffee for herself while Edward joined his parents.
"What have you in the diary today?" Carlisle asked once they were all happily sipping their cups.
Bella licked her lips. "I have to set up my computer for some work things," she said, glancing at Edward.
He nodded and turned to his parents. "I have a free morning. I thought maybe about conducting a job hunt for a while," he said with a light shrug. "Yourselves?"
"We were thinking of taking a little hike," Carlisle said, glancing out the kitchen window. "After yoga. Nothing strenuous, just something to get to know the area, perhaps talk to the plants a bit."
Bella smiled around the lip of her mug. "I love you guys," she said, unable to keep her affection for them in. The Cullens all looked at her, pleased but surprised.
"We love you too," Esme said, reaching out and patting the back of Bella's hand.
The four of them enjoyed their quiet morning with tea and coffee before they all went back upstairs to change for yoga. On their way down with mats rolled up under their arms, Bella saw her mother, fully dressed with a full face of makeup already applied, just leaving her room.
"Oh! Good morning," Renée said, her voice a little too loud for the hour.
"Hey, mom. We're just going out to the yard to do yoga. Wanna join us?"
Renée's eyes widened and her head whipped around to stare out the front windows. The Swans didn't have defined front or back lawns. Charlie had never put up a fence, just like the rest of the neighborhood. Growing up, the girls had been free to move into the neighboring yards as much as their friends had been free to enter theirs.
It had never been an issue because Renée had always been able to control what went on in front of her house.
But this? Yoga? What if the neighbors saw? What would they think?
Heaven forbid anyone sees Renée sweat.
"Oh, I… no. I don't think…"
Esme reached out to her, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Next time, dear."
The four of them filed out to the yard before Renée could say anything more. She watched as they found the sunniest spot—horrifically in sight of Amanda Stanley's front windows across the street.
She could already hear all of Amanda's annoying comments.
Panicked, Renée paced away from the window, resolving to drink her coffee in the kitchen and put the whacky Cullens out of her mind.
But of course, the moment they were out of sight, Renée worried about what else they might be doing to embarrass her to her neighbors.
Unable to not see what was going on, Renée rushed back to the living room window without her coffee.
They were all unrolling mats on the grass. Edward gestured up to the sky, and Carlisle pressed his palms together as if in prayer. Renée wasn't sure if the Cullens were religious, but if they were, she'd have to take them to Sunday church with the rest of town. That ought to help smooth over some of this, weirdness.
Everyone centered on their mats, and Carlisle said something, though he was speaking too softly to be overheard from inside. Then as one, they all moved into a stretch, reaching toward the sky. They looked ridiculous if Renée was being honest. She couldn't fathom what sort of benefits they thought they were getting from yoga. Surely, it couldn't be anything worth being seen like that.
In the yard, everyone shifted into a deep lunging stance, and Renée was gifted the view of Esme and Carlisle's behinds. Renée was no prude—you didn't have five daughters unless you enjoyed sex—but people in her life didn't just go around sticking their butts into her face. Even covered in their yoga pants, she could see the definition of every muscle they had.
It made her immediately self-conscious, though she couldn't tear her eyes away for the world.
When they finally moved, Renée reached down to her own backside, poking around at it. It wasn't flabby, but in comparison to the Cullens, it might as well be. Renée was in tremendous shape, especially for having as many children as she had had, but she couldn't completely erase time, and it had come for her despite her best efforts.
It seemed, however, that it had not come for the Cullens, and that was whole-heartedly and decidedly unfair.
Renée watched the rest of the yoga session, frowning whenever she saw the strength in Esme's legs or the definition of Carlisle's arms. They were nearly the same age as she and Charlie—so why did they look so much better?
Her insecurity gnawed at her as she watched them stretch. She and Charlie could still look good… If only Charlie would listen to her once in a while.
Renée grew lost in thought, stewing over her jealousy and insecurities so long that she almost got caught watching them through the window when they wrapped up their session. Renée ducked out of the window and ran to the kitchen before anyone saw her. Seconds after she arrived in the kitchen, she heard the front door open as the Cullens and her daughter filed back into the house.
"That was perfect, Carlisle. Thank you," she could hear Bella saying.
"Certainly," he said, his voice serene. Renée scowled. She very much doubted that the yoga business was actually successful in calming a person down. She suspected they were all faking the results.
"Hey, mom."
Renée startled, surprised to be caught with her mind wandering.
She cleared her throat. "Bella," she said stiffly.
Bella smirked at her mother, and Renée got flashbacks of when Bella was a teenager. She watched her daughter cross the kitchen to fetch a glass of water, and Renée realized Edward was not far behind her. Renée busied herself with making a cup of coffee.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Bella get Edward a glass. She noticed the hand he placed on the small of Bella's back, and Renée frowned. The touch was simple enough, but the message of love and quiet support was unmistakable. Edward loved her daughter, through and through, in a way perhaps, Renée had never known love to be. Surely, she loved Charlie as she knew he loved her in return, but the way Bella and Edward interacted was different. They were aware of each other, reached out to each other, and always seemed to have the other on their mind.
Renée couldn't remember the last time Charlie had done anything for her without her having to ask him at least eighteen times.
"We're going to go shower," Bella said, turning to her mother. Renée blinked.
"Oh, well my shower is actually not really ready for use yet…" Renée started, not wanting anyone near her vanity cabinet just yet.
"That's fine. We'll use the other one." Bella smiled, pulling an arm around Edward's hips as she led him out of the kitchen. Renée's eyes bugged when she realized what her daughter meant, and she couldn't help sputtering a protest, even though Bella was nowhere within earshot.
"But you're not even married," she said to the empty kitchen.
"Yet!" Bella shouted from the living room. Renée's head whipped around to look into the living room. Bella and Edward were climbing the stairs clear across the house. She'd forgotten how good her daughter's hearing was.
Renée let out a long breath and returned to her coffee, barely resisting tipping in a little extra liquid courage to get her through the day.
If she started that now, she'd be an alcoholic by the end of summer without a doubt.