AN: So this is obviously the honeymoon chapter BUT...there's a nice little twist in the end that I think you all will like! :) So read on and enjoy please!
BELLA'S POV:
"Houston?" I asked, raising my eyebrows when we reached the gate in Seattle.
"Just a stop along the way," Edward assured me with a grin.
It felt like I'd barely fallen asleep when he woke me. I was groggy as he pulled me through the terminals, struggling to remember how to open my eyes after every blink. It took me a few minutes to catch up with what was going on when we stopped at the international counter to check in for our next flight.
"Rio de Janeiro?" I asked with slightly more trepidation.
"Another stop," he told me.
The flight to South America was long but comfortable in the wide first-class seat, with Edward's arms cradled around me. I slept myself out and awoke unusually alert as we circled toward the airport with the light of the setting sun slanting through the plane's windows.
We didn't stay in the airport to connect with another flight as I'd expected. Instead we took a taxi through the dark, teeming, living streets of Rio. Unable to understand a work of Edward's Portuguese instructions to the driver, I guessed that we were off to find a hotel before the next leg of our journey. A sharp twinge of something very close to stage fright twisted in the pit of my stomach as I considered that. The taxi continued through the swarming crowds until they thinned somewhat, and we appeared to be nearing the extreme western edge of the city, heading into the ocean.
We stopped at the docks.
Edward led the way down the long line of white yachts moored in the night blackened water. The boat he stopped at was smaller than the others, sleeker, obviously built for speed instead of space. Still luxurious, though, and more graceful than the rest. He leaped in lightly, despite the heavy bags he carried. He dropped those on the deck and turned to help me carefully over the edge.
I watched in silence while he prepared the boat for departure, surprised at how skilled and comfortable he seemed, because he'd never mentioned an interest in boating before. But then again, he was good at just about everything.
As we headed due east into the open ocean, I reviewed basic geography in my head. As far as I could remember, there wasn't much east of Brazil...until you got to Africa.
But Edward sped forward while the lights of Rio faded and ultimately disappeared behind us. On his face was a familiar exhilarated smile, the one produced by any form of speed. The boat plunged through the waves and I was showered with sea spray.
Finally the curiosity I'd suppressed so long got the best of me.
"Are we going much farther?" I asked.
It wasn't like him to forget that I was human, but I wondered if he planned for us to live on this small craft for any length of time.
"About another half hour." His eyes took in my hands, clenched on the seat, and he grinned.
Oh well, I thought to myself. He was a vampire, after all. Maybe we were going to Atlantis.
Twenty minutes later, he called my name over the roar of the engine.
"Bella, look there." He pointed straight ahead.
I saw only blackness at first, and the moon's white trail across the water. But I searched the space where he pointed until I found a low black shape breaking into the sheen of moonlight on the waves. As I squinted into the darkness, the silhouette became more detailed. The shape grew into a squat, irregular triangle, with one side trailing longer than the other before sinking into the waves. We drew closer, and I could see the outline was feathery, swaying to the light breeze.
And then my eyes refocused and the pieces all made sense: a small island rose out of the water ahead of us, waving with palm fronds, a beach glowing pale in the light of the moon.
"Where are we?" I murmured in wonder while he shifted course, heading around to the north end of the island.
He heard me, despite the noise of the engine, and smiled a wide smile that gleamed in the moonlight.
"This is Isle Esme."
The boat slowed dramatically, drawing with precision into position against a short dock constructed of wooden planks, bleached into whiteness by the moon.
The engine cut off, and the silence that followed was profound. There was nothing but the waves, slapping lightly against the boat, and the rustle of the breeze in the palms. The air was warm, moist, and fragrant—like the steam left behind after a hot shower.
"Isle Esme?" My voice was low, but it still sounded too loud as it broke into the quiet night.
"A gift from Carlisle—Esme offered to let us borrow it."
A gift. Who gives an island as a gift? I frowned. I hadn't realized that Edward's extreme generosity was a learned behavior.
He placed the suitcases on the dock and then turned back, smiling his perfect smile as he reached for me. Instead of taking my hand, he pulled me right up into his arms.
"Aren't you supposed to wait for the threshold?" I asked, breathless, as he sprung lightly out of the boat.
He grinned. "I'm nothing if not thorough."
Gripping the handles of both huge steamer trunks in one hand and cradling me in the other arm, he carried me up the dock and onto a pale sand pathway through the dark vegetation.
For a short while it was pitch black in the jungle-like growth, and then I could see a warm light ahead. It was about at the point when I realized the light was a house—the two bright, perfect squares were wide windows framing a front door— that the stage fright attacked again, more forcefully than before, worse than when I'd thought we were headed for a hotel.
My heart thudded audibly against my ribs, and my breath seemed to get stuck in my throat. I felt Edward's eyes on my face, but I refused to meet his gaze. I stared straight ahead, seeing nothing.
He didn't ask what I was thinking, which was out of character for him. I guessed that meant that he was just as nervous as I suddenly was.
He set the suitcases on the deep porch to open the doors—they were unlocked. Edward looked down at me, waiting until I met his gaze before he stepped through the threshold.
He carried me through the house, both of us very quiet, flipping on lights as he went. My vague impression of the house was that it was quite large for a tiny island, and oddly familiar. I'd gotten used to the pale-on-pale color scheme preferred by the Cullen's; it felt like home. I couldn't focus on any specifics, though. The violent pulse beating behind my ears made everything a little blurry.
Then Edward stopped and turned on the last light.
The room was big and white, and the far wall was mostly glass—standard decor for my vampires. Outside, the moon was bright on white sand and, just a few yards away from the house, glistening waves. But I barely noted that part. I was more focused on the absolutely huge white bed in the center of the room, hung with billowy clouds of mosquito netting.
Edward set me on my feet.
"I'll… go get the luggage."
While he was out getting the luggage I took a minute to call Esme and check on Nessie. When I called she was asleep but Esme had just fed, changed, and bathed her so it sounded like she was down for the night. I told Esme to give Nessie hugs and kisses from both of us before hanging up.
I had promised Edward that while we were on our honeymoon, as much as we both loved and adored Nessie, this time was about US, so I was only allowed to call and check on her when we got there. After that Esme would contact US if anything was wrong. It's not that Edward and I didn't care, but he wanted me to relax and forget about all our everyday worries and cares while we were here.
The room was too warm, stuffier than the tropical night outside. A bead of sweat dewed up on the nape of my neck. I walked slowly forward until I could reach out and touch the foamy netting. For some reason I felt the need to make sure everything was real.
I didn't hear Edward return. Suddenly, his wintry finger caressed the back of my neck, wiping away the drop of perspiration.
"It's a little hot here," he said apologetically. "I thought… that would be best."
"Thorough," I murmured under my breath, and he chuckled. It was a nervous sound, rare for Edward.
"I tried to think of everything that would make this… easier," he admitted.
I swallowed loudly, still facing away from him. Had there ever been a honeymoon like this before?
I knew the answer to that. No. There had not.
"I was wondering," Edward said slowly, "if… first… maybe you'd like to take a midnight swim with me?" He took a deep breath, and his voice was more at ease when he spoke again. "The water will be very warm. This is the kind of beach you approve of."
"Sounds nice." My voice broke.
"I'm sure you'd like a human minute or two.… It was a long journey."
I nodded woodenly. I felt barely human; maybe a few minutes alone would help.
His lips brushed against my throat, just below my ear. He chuckled once and his cool breath tickled my overheated skin. "Don't take too long, Mrs. Cullen."
I jumped a little at the sound of my new name.
His lips brushed down my neck to the tip of my shoulder. "I'll wait for you in the water."
He walked past me to the French door that opened right onto the beach sand. On the way, he shrugged out of his shirt, dropping it on the floor, and then slipped through the door into the moonlit night. The sultry, salty air swirled into the room behind him.
Did my skin burst into flames? I had to look down to check. Nope, nothing was burning. At least, not visibly.
I reminded myself to breathe, and then I stumbled toward the giant suitcase that Edward had opened on top of a low white dresser. It must be mine, because my familiar bag of toiletries was right on top, and there was a lot of pink in there, but I didn't recognize even one article of clothing. As I pawed through the neatly folded piles—looking for something familiar and comfortable, a pair of old sweats maybe—it came to my attention that there was an awful lot of sheer lace and skimpy satin in my hands. Lingerie. Very lingerie-ish lingerie, with French tags.
I didn't know how or when, but someday, Alice was going to pay for this. Giving up, I went to the bathroom and peeked out through the long windows that opened to the same beach as the French doors. I couldn't see him; I guessed he was there in the water, not bothering to come up for air. In the sky above, the moon was lopsided, almost full, and the sand was bright white under its shine. A small movement caught my eye—draped over a bend in one of the palm trees that fringed the beach, the rest of his clothes were swaying in the light breeze.
A rush of heat flashed across my skin again.
I took a couple of deep breaths and then went to the mirrors above the long stretch of counters. I looked exactly like I'd been sleeping on a plane all day. I found my brush and yanked it harshly through the snarls on the back of my neck until they were smoothed out and the bristles were full of hair. I brushed my teeth meticulously, twice. Then I washed my face and splashed water on the back of my neck, which was feeling feverish. That felt so good that I washed my arms as well, and finally I decided to just give up and take the shower.
When I was done, I grabbed a huge white towel off the counter and wrapped it under my arms.
Then I was faced with a dilemma I hadn't considered. What was I supposed to put on? Not a swimsuit, obviously. But it seemed silly to put my clothes back on, too. I didn't even want to think about the things Alice had packed for me.
Then suddenly I felt ridiculous for all this worrying. This was Edward after all, my husband, the father of our daughter, my everything.
I could see being nervous if it was anyone else, but it wasn't.
It was Edward out there, so I whispered the words "Don't be a coward" under my breath and scrambled to my feet. I hitched the towel tighter under my arms and marched determinedly from the bathroom. Past the suitcase full of lace and the big bed without looking at either. Out the open glass door onto the powder fine sand.
Everything was black-and-white, leached colorless by the moon. I walked slowly across the warm powder, pausing beside the curved tree where he had left his clothes. I laid my hand against the rough bark and checked my breathing to make sure it was even. Or even enough.
I looked across the low ripples, black in the darkness, searching for him.
He wasn't hard to find. He stood, his back to me, waist deep in the midnight water, staring up at the oval moon. The pallid light of the moon turned his skin a perfect white, like the sand, like the moon itself, and made his wet hair black as the ocean. He was motionless, his hands resting palms down against the water; the low waves broke around him as if he were a stone. I stared at the smooth lines of his back, his shoulders, his arms, his neck, the flawless shape of him.…
The fire was no longer a flash burn across my skin—it was slow and deep now; it smoldered away all my awkwardness, my shy uncertainty. I slipped the towel off without hesitation, leaving it on the tree with his clothes, and walked out into the white light; it made me pale as the snowy sand, too.
I couldn't hear the sound of my footsteps as I walked to the water's edge, but I guessed that he could. Edward did not turn. I let the gentle swells break over my toes, and found that he'd been right about the temperature—it was very warm, like bath water. I stepped in, walking carefully across the invisible ocean floor, but my care was unnecessary; the sand continued perfectly smooth, sloping gently toward Edward. I waded through the weightless current till I was at his side, and then I placed my hand lightly over his cool hand lying on the water.
"Beautiful," I said, looking up at the moon, too.
"It's all right," he answered, unimpressed. He turned slowly to face me; little waves rolled away from his movement and broke against my skin. His eyes looked silver in his ice-colored face. He twisted his hand up so that he could twine our fingers beneath the surface of the water. It was warm enough that his cool skin did not raise goose bumps on mine.
"But I wouldn't use the word beautiful," he continued. "Not with you standing here in comparison."
I half-smiled, then raised my free hand—it didn't tremble now—and placed it over his heart. White on white; we matched, for once. He shuddered the tiniest bit at my warm touch. His breath came rougher now.
"I've been waiting for this since I've come home," he whispered, suddenly tense. "I… I've honestly been wanting this...wanting you...for a long time now, Mrs. Cullen." he said my new name with a smile on his face.
I smiled, happy I wasn't alone in my feelings. Happy that this moment had finally come. I nodded solemnly, keeping my eyes on his. I took another step through the waves and leaned my head against his chest.
"I feel the same Mr. Cullen," I murmured. "We belong together."
I was abruptly overwhelmed by the truth of my own words. This moment was so perfect, so right, there was no way to doubt it.
His arms wrapped around me, holding me against him, summer and winter. It felt like every nerve ending in my body was a live wire.
"Forever," he agreed, and then pulled us gently into deeper water.
The sun, hot on the bare skin of my back, woke me in the morning. Late morning, maybe afternoon, I wasn't sure. Everything besides the time was clear, though; I knew exactly where I was—the bright room with the big white bed, brilliant sunlight streaming through the open doors. The clouds of netting would soften the shine.
I didn't open my eyes. I was too happy to change anything, no matter how small.
The only sounds were the waves outside, our breathing, my heartbeat.…
I rolled over to cuddle with my husband...man I love even THINKING that...but he wasn't there.
I sat up to see a note on his pillow reading "Making you breakfast, if you wake up before I am back come into the kitchen."
I smiled at the words, at how sweet my husband is.
I put the note down and realized the bed was covered in some kind of fluffy white snow that also clung to my skin. I shook my head, and a cascade of white drifted out of my hair.
I pinched one soft white bit between my fingers. It was a piece of down.
I suddenly realized that I was covered in feathers. Before I was able to really wonder why I and the bed were covered in feathers I suddenly heard something sizzle in the other room.
I walked over to the suitcase and found the longest robe I could, which was only down to my mid thigh (thank you Alice), before heading to the source of the sound.
I padded off barefoot to where the smell of eggs and bacon and cheddar cheese was coming from.
Edward stood in front of the stainless steel stove, sliding an omelet onto the light blue plate waiting on the counter. The scent of the food overwhelmed me. I felt like I could eat the plate and the frying pan, too; my stomach snarled.
He must have heard my stomach because he suddenly turned around and saw me. I couldn't help but notice that as soon as he saw me his face lit up like a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.
"Hello, my love." he said as I walked over to him.
"Good morning Mr. Cullen." I responded with a smile.
He gave me a half-hug and kissed my forehead while shifting the eggs in the hot skillet.
After he kissed me he had to turn back to the food to make sure it didn't burn.
I didn't mind though, I simply hugged him from behind, placing my cheek on his back.
"Food's ready. Go sit down, I'll bring it to you." he said.
I nodded into his back before going to sit at the island.
After a few minutes he turned with a smile on his face and set the plate on a small tiled table.
I sat in one of the two metal chairs and started snarfing down the hot eggs. They burned my throat, but I didn't care.
He sat down across from me. "I'm not feeding you often enough."
I swallowed and then reminded him, "I was asleep. This is really good, by the way. Impressive for someone who doesn't eat."
"Food Network," he said, flashing my favorite crooked smile.
I was happy to see it, happy that he, like myself, was completely relaxed and happy in this moment.
"Where did the eggs come from?"
"I asked the cleaning crew to stock the kitchen. A first, for this place." he simply replied taking a drink of his coffee.
"Speaking of the cleaning crew," I said reaching into my hair and pulling out a feather, "Why am I covered in feathers?" I asked, confused.
He suddenly got an impish look on his face and looked like a 5 year old who had gotten caught doing something bad. "I might have bit a pillow. Or two. Last night."
"You… bit a pillow? Why?"
"Well Bella, MOST couples, while in the throes of romance, bite or nip at their partners neck. And I couldn't exactly do that last night now could I?" he asked.
I turned slightly red at the thought, honestly proud of the fact that I had that kind of effect on him.
"Speaking of last night," I said moving out of my seat and into Edward's lap, "Was it anything compared to our last time?" I asked nervous.
I was honestly worried he didn't enjoy himself last night. I was so tired from the jet lag and our lovemaking that I had fallen asleep very shortly after.
He sat and thought about it a moment before shaking his head.
"No, it wasn't." he said before taking a drink of his coffee.
I started to feel the lump in my throat start to form. I was a disappointment.
He must have seen this because he suddenly stopped drinking his coffee and raised my chin so I was eye to eye with him.
"It was more, so much more. It was the best night of my entire existence. It was...everything. There aren't words to describe how amazing last night was for me baby." he said before kissing me passionately.
With that one kiss I knew he was telling the truth.
He pulled away looking nervous.
"And...for you? Was last night pleasurable as well."
I sat there for a moment pretending to think, knowing I was teasing him.
"Well..." I said starting to smirk.
He saw the smirk and knew I was just messing with him.
"It was the most amazing night of my life Edward. It was a night I will never forget, even after you change me." I said hugging him.
I pulled back quickly as a thought had just crossed my mind.
"You ARE still going to change me right?" I asked.
He smiled and laughed slightly before looking me square in the eyes.
"Of course I will Bella. As soon as we get home." he promised.
He then smiled and looked up above my eyes before reaching for one of the feathers in my hair.
"I'll have to ask the cleaning crew to deal with the feathers.… " he said looking at it and twirling it between his thumb and index finger.
"So, why exactly did you decide to ruin Esme's pillows?" I asked, sitting up and shaking more down from my hair.
"I don't know if I decided to do anything last night," he muttered through his smile. "We're just lucky it was the pillows and not you."
"So what do we do now?" I asked, not wanting to get up but knowing we needed to.
"Well first why don't we go get dressed?" he asked as he grabbed his cup.
I nodded, getting up and taking my plate into the sink.
We went back into the bedroom to get dressed after that.
I had to search though A LOT of lingerie, much to Edward's delight, just to get to the casual clothes Alice had allowed me to pack.
I pulled out one of my camisole tops and a pair of jean shorts as well as clean underwear before going to sit on the bed to get dressed.
As I turned around I saw Edward had already pulled on a pair of loose khaki pants and a plain white t-shirt. He then stood up, rumpling his hair, dislodging a few feathers of his own.
After I got dressed I walked over to the mirror to look at my own hair, and groaned.
"Bella?" He was right there behind me as soon as I'd made a sound.
"I'll never get this all out of my hair!" I pointed to my head, where it looked like a chicken was nesting. I started picking at the feathers.
"You would be worried about your hair," he mumbled, but he came to stand behind me, pulling out the feathers much more quickly.
"How did you keep from laughing at this? I look ridiculous."
He didn't answer; he just kept plucking with a smug grin on his face.
"This isn't going to work," I sighed after a minute. "It's all dried in. I'm going to have to try to wash it out." I turned around, wrapping my arms around his cool waist. "Do you want to help me?"
He just smiled before picking me up bridal style and carrying me into the bathroom.
When I was mostly feather-free and we were both dressed again we then planned our day.
Many of our days were packed with things to do.
We snorkeled (well, I snorkeled while he flaunted his ability to go without oxygen indefinitely).
We explored the small jungle that ringed the rocky little peak.
We visited the parrots that lived in the canopy on the south end of the island.
We watched the sunset from the rocky western cove.
We swam with the porpoises that played in the warm, shallow waters there. Or at least I did; when Edward was in the water, the porpoises disappeared as if a shark was near.
We spent days exploring coral reefs and submerged caves, swimming with sea turtles.
We also spent days lounging around watching DVDs on the big-screen plasma TV, taking breaks for food and pleasure.
On days when it seemed we were going, going, going all day, I found myself so completely famished and exhausted when the sun eventually set, I drooped over my plate after I finished dinner at night.
Once I'd actually fallen asleep right at the table and he'd had to carry me to bed. Part of it was that Edward always made too much food for one, but I was so hungry after swimming and climbing all day that I ate most of it. Then, full and worn out, I could barely keep my eyes open.
About a week or so after we'd gotten to the island, I decided to give his eyes a little satisfaction, as well as the rest of him.
We were sleeping in the blue room now. The cleaning crew wasn't due until the next day, and so the white room still had a snowy blanket of down. The blue room was smaller, the bed more reasonably proportioned. The walls were dark, paneled in teak, and the fittings were all luxurious blue silk.
I'd taken to wearing some of Alice's lingerie collection to sleep in at night—which weren't so revealing compared to the scanty bikinis she'd packed for me when it came right down to it. I wondered if she'd seen a vision of why I would want such things, and then shuddered, embarrassed by that thought.
I'd started out slow with innocent ivory satins, but tonight I pulled out one of the scarier pieces as I got ready in the paneled bathroom. It was black, lacy, and embarrassing to look at even when it wasn't on. I was careful not to look in the mirror before I went back to the bedroom. I didn't want to lose my nerve.
I had the satisfaction of watching his eyes pop open wide for just a second before he controlled his expression.
"What do you think?" I asked, pirouetting so that he could see every angle.
He cleared his throat before climbing out of bed and coming to me, putting his hands on my hips, pulling me towards him.
"You're breathtaking, absolutely gorgeous." he said against my lips before capturing them in a passionate kiss.
I eagerly wrapped my arms around his neck as he lifted me up and carried me to the bed. He gently laid me down before climbing on top of me and kissing me again, starting another long and passionate night for us.
The next morning I woke up with a start, sitting up but as I moved, an odd wave of vertigo hit. I swayed and fell back against the pillows.
"Whoa… head rush."
I heard him laugh as he gently pulled me to his chest. I looked around to check on the pillows, which had become a standing joke between the two of us.
"The pillows all appear to have survived." I said jokingly.
"Unfortunately, I can't say the same for your, er, nightgown." He nodded toward the foot of the bed, where several scraps of black lace were strewn across the silk sheets.
"That's too bad," I said. "I liked that one."
"I did, too."
"Were there any other casualties?" I asked timidly.
"I'll have to buy Esme a new bed frame," he confessed, glancing over his shoulder.
I followed his gaze and was shocked to see that large chunks of wood had apparently been gouged from the left side of the headboard.
"Hmm." I frowned. "You'd think I would have heard that."
"You seem to be extraordinarily unobservant when your attention is otherwise involved."
"I was a bit absorbed," I admitted, blushing a deep red.
He touched my burning cheek and sighed. "I'm really going to miss that."
Suddenly my stomach growled, and he laughed. "Breakfast time for the human?" he asked.
"Please," I said, hopping out of bed. I moved too quickly, though, and had to stagger drunkenly to regain my balance. He caught me before I could stumble into the dresser.
"Are you all right?"
"If I don't have a better sense of equilibrium in my next life, I'm demanding a refund."
I cooked this morning, frying up some eggs—too hungry to do anything more elaborate. Impatient, I flipped them onto a plate after just a few minutes.
"Since when do you eat eggs sunny-side up?" he asked.
"Since now."
"Do you know how many eggs you've gone through in the last week?" He pulled the trash bin out from under the sink—it was full of empty blue cartons.
"Weird," I said after swallowing a scorching bite. "This place is messing with my appetite." And my dreams, and my already dubious balance. "But I like it here. So what are we doing today?" I asked.
"Can you hold on to that thought? I hear a boat. The cleaning crew must be here. Let me explain the mess in the white room to Gustavo, and then we can go out. There's a place in the jungle on the south—"
"You know, actually, I don't want to go out. I am not hiking all over the island today. I want to stay here and watch a movie."
He pursed his lips, trying not to laugh at my disgruntled tone. "All right, whatever you'd like. Why don't you pick one out while I get the door?"
"I didn't hear a knock."
He cocked his head to the side, listening. A half second later, a faint, timid rap on the door sounded. He grinned and turned for the hallway.
I wandered over to the shelves under the big TV and started scanning through the titles. It was hard to decide where to begin. They had more DVDs than a rental store.
I had finally decided on "Remember Me" just as I heard Edward walk back into the room.
"Will we move back into the white room now?" I wondered idly as I walked over to join him on the couch.
"I don't know.… I've already mangled the headboard in the other room beyond repair—maybe if we limit the destruction to one area of the house, Esme might invite us back someday."
"Did you want to go survey the demolition zone now?" I asked, knowing he would know what I was asking for.
"Maybe it would be more polite to wait until we're alone. You may not notice me tearing the furniture apart, but it would probably scare them."
In truth, I'd already forgotten the people in the other room. "Right. Drat." I said settling into his chest.
I heard him chuckle as he kissed my head and wrapped his arms around me.
I was starting to get sleepy—though, according to Edward, I'd slept half the day—when a rough voice startled me. Edward sat up, keeping me cradled against him, and answered Gustavo in flowing Portuguese. Gustavo nodded and walked quietly toward the front door.
"They're finished," Edward told me.
"So that would mean that we're alone now?"
"How about lunch first?" he suggested.
I bit my lip, torn by the dilemma. I was pretty hungry.
With a smile, he took my hand and led me to the kitchen. He knew my face so well, it didn't matter that he couldn't read my mind.
"This is getting out of hand," I complained when I finally felt full.
"Do you want to swim with the dolphins this afternoon—burn off the calories?" he asked.
"Maybe later. I had another idea for burning calories."
"And what was that?"
"Well, there's an awful lot of headboard left—"
But I didn't finish. He'd already swept me up into his arms, and his lips silenced mine as he carried me with inhuman speed to the blue room.
Later that night something make me wake up from my dreams. I jolted upright, shocked out of the dream.
The room was black. It was also steamy hot. Sweat matted my hair at the temples and rolled down my throat.
I groped the warm sheets and found them empty.
"Edward?"
Just then, my fingers encountered something smooth and flat and stiff. One sheet of paper, folded in half. I took the note with me and felt my way across the room to the light switch.
The outside of the note was addressed to Mrs. Cullen.
"I'm hoping you won't wake and notice my absence, but, if you should, I'll be back very soon. I've just gone to the mainland to hunt. Go back to sleep and I'll be here when you wake again. I love you."
I sighed. We'd been here about a week now, so I should have been expecting that he would have to leave, but I hadn't been thinking about time. We seemed to exist outside of time here, just drifting along in a perfect state.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead. I felt absolutely wide awake, though the clock on the dresser said it was after one. I knew I would never be able to sleep as hot and sticky as I felt. I got up and wandered aimlessly through the dark house, flipping on lights. It felt so big and empty without Edward there. Different. I ended up in the kitchen and decided that maybe comfort food was what I needed.
I poked around in the fridge until I found all the ingredients for fried chicken.
The popping and sizzling of the chicken in the pan was a nice, homey sound; I felt less nervous while it filled the silence.
It smelled so good that I started eating it right out of the pan, burning my tongue in the process. By the fifth or sixth bite, though, it had cooled enough for me to taste it. My chewing slowed. Was there something off about the flavor? I checked the meat, and it was white all the way through, but I wondered if it was completely done. I took another experimental bite; I chewed twice. Ugh— definitely bad. I jumped up to spit it into the sink. Suddenly, the chicken-and-oil smell was revolting. I took the whole plate and shook it into the garbage, then opened the windows to chase away the scent. A coolish breeze had picked up outside. It felt good on my skin.
I was abruptly exhausted, but I didn't want to go back to the hot room. So I opened more windows in the TV room and lay on the couch right beneath them. I turned on the same movie we'd watched the other day and quickly fell asleep to the light music introduction.
When I opened my eyes again, the sun was halfway up the sky, but it was not the light that woke me. Cool arms were around me, pulling me against him. At the same time, a sudden pain twisted in my stomach, almost like the aftershock of catching a punch in the gut.
"I'm sorry," Edward was murmuring as he wiped a wintry hand across my clammy forehead. "So much for thoroughness. I didn't think about how hot you would be with me gone. I'll have an air conditioner installed before I leave again."
I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying. "Excuse me!" I gasped, struggling to get free of his arms.
He dropped his hold automatically. "Bella?"
I streaked for the bathroom with my hand clamped over my mouth. I felt so horrible that I didn't even care—at first—that he was with me while I crouched over the toilet and was violently sick.
"Bella? What's wrong?"
I couldn't answer yet. He held me anxiously, keeping my hair out of my face, waiting till I could breathe again.
"Damn rancid chicken," I moaned.
"Are you all right?" His voice was strained.
"Fine," I panted. "It's just food poisoning. You don't need to see this. Go away."
"Not likely, Bella."
"Go away," I moaned again, struggling to get up so I could rinse my mouth out.
He helped me gently, ignoring the weak shoves I aimed at him.
After my mouth was clean, he carried me to the bed and sat me down carefully, supporting me with his arms.
"Food poisoning?"
"Yeah," I croaked. "I made some chicken last night. It tasted off, so I threw it out. But I ate a few bites first."
He put a cold hand on my forehead. It felt nice. "How do you feel now?"
I thought about that for a moment. The nausea had passed as suddenly as it had come, and I felt like I did any other morning. "Pretty normal. A little hungry, actually."
He made me wait an hour and keep down a big glass of water before he fried me some eggs.
I felt perfectly normal, just a little tired from being up in the middle of the night. He put on CNN—we'd been so out of touch, world war three could have broken out and we wouldn't have known—and I lounged drowsily across his lap.
I got bored with the news and twisted around to kiss him. Just like this morning, a sharp pain hit my stomach when I moved. I lurched away from him, my hand tight over my mouth. I knew I'd never make it to the bathroom this time, so I ran to the kitchen sink.
He held my hair again.
"Maybe we should go back to Rio, see a doctor," he suggested anxiously when I was rinsing my mouth afterward.
I shook my head and edged toward the hallway. Doctors meant needles. "I'll be fine right after I brush my teeth."
When my mouth tasted better, I searched through my suitcase for the little first aid kit Alice had packed for me, full of human things like bandages and painkillers and—my object now—Pepto-Bismol. Maybe I could settle my stomach and calm Edward down.
But before I found the Pepto, I happened across something else that Alice had packed for me. I picked up the small blue box and stared at it in my hand for a long moment, forgetting everything else.
Then I started counting in my head. Once. Twice. Again.
The knock startled me; the little box fell back into the suitcase.
"Are you well?" Edward asked through the door. "Did you get sick again?"
"Yes and no," I said, but my voice sounded strangled.
"Bella? Can I please come in?" Worriedly now.
"O…kay?"
He came in and appraised my position, sitting cross-legged on the floor by the suitcase, and my expression, blank and staring. He sat next to me, his hand going to my forehead at once.
"What's wrong?"
"How many days has it been since the wedding?" I whispered.
"Fifteen," he answered automatically. "Bella, what is it?"
I was counting again. I held up a finger, cautioning him to wait, and mouthed the numbers to myself. I'd been wrong about the days before. We'd been here longer than I'd thought. I started over again.
"Bella!" he whispered urgently. "I'm losing my mind over here."
I tried to swallow. It didn't work. So I reached into the suitcase and fumbled around until I found the little blue box of tampons again. I held them up silently.
He stared at me in confusion. "What? Are you trying to pass this illness off as PMS?"
"No," I managed to choke out. "No, Edward. I'm trying to tell you that my period is five days late."
Reflexively, almost involuntarily, my hand dropped to my stomach.
He saw the motion and I could almost see the wheels turning in his head, trying to wrap his head around what I was telling him.
His facial expression didn't change. It was like I hadn't spoken.
"I don't think I have food poisoning," I added.
Understanding started to take over, I could see it in his face.
"Edward, I think I may be pregnant again."
DUN DUN DUN! Lol, I've been planning for Edward and Bella to have another baby ever since I started this story so I was happy to write that in. Now do you all want me to go all the way through her pregnancy again, this time with Edward there every step of the way? OR just touch on the big things...like him feeling the baby move, the big ultrasound, stuff like that? Review and let me know. YOU GUYS ARE GONNA HELP SHAPE PART OF THE STORY IF YOU REVIEW! So PUSH THAT BUTTON AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! LOVE YOU ALL!