DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.
EPOV
I woke up to find my arms wrapped around something warm and soft and yet hard at the same time. I opened my eyes marginally and saw my Bella sleeping soundly next to me.
I couldn't help but grin when I saw the ring glittering on her finger, nor as the memories of the previous night dashed through my memory. I sighed and brushed a few stray hairs out of her eyes, drinking in as much as her beauty as I could. She looked so peaceful and innocent.
She smiled a small smile at me and opened her eyes slightly. She saw me watching her and she grinned at me. "Hey there," She shuffled over to me and kissed me on the nose. I mock scowled at her and she giggled. "Last night...." She sighed, smiling serenly at me. "That was....hmmmmm...."
"Great analogy." I chuckled and it was her turn to mock scowl and my turn to laugh. I sighed and watched her as she scanned my face, gently brushing a few strands of hair out of my eyes. "You...." I pulled her even closer to me. "Have made me the happiest person in the world." I kissed her nose and forehead before, I pressed my lips to hers.
She shook her head at me. "The second happiest." She grinned. "I'm the happiest."
I chuckled. "Okay, that's just corny."
She grinned, nodding her head. "I know."
I scanned the room quickly. "You know what I just realised?" She shook her head, her brow confusing. "We forgot about the candles." Her eyes grew wide as she propped herself up on her elbow and looked around.
"Doesn't look like anything caught fire." She looked back at me and smiled sheepishly, before leaning down and pressing her lips to mine. "Well, I guess I had you a bit distracted last night." As she said this, the blush that I loved so much appeared on her cheeks.
"That you did." I pulled her close to me and she rested her head on my shoulder, sighing. "Love?" She mumbled a response that I didn't quite hear properly. "I don't want to ruin the moment or anything but we didn't....use....anything last night."
She took her head off of my chest, and looked at me. "Don't worry." She kissed the end of my nose. "I'm on the pill."
"That's good." I sighed. I wasn't ready to be a father...yet.
"I know." She leaned her head back onto my chest. "I'm not ready to be a mother....yet." I swear that I'd just thought the exact same thing.
We lay there for a few moments, both of us drifting in and out of sleep when Bella's alarm clock rang throughtout the room. Silently cursing she rolled over and turned it off, before wrapping a sheet around herself and waddling into the bathroom. I couldn't help but laugh at her as she turned around and stuck her tongue out at me before closing the bathroom door.
I quickly got up and pulled on my pyjama pants and a t-shirt, and not knowing how long Bella was going to be I went downstairs to make myself some breakfast.
Walking into the kitchen I saw that Emmett and Alice were already up. Which was odd. Alice being up, okay, that could be seen as being pretty much normal, but Emmett being up? There was something wrong with this picture. Alice was sat at the breakfast bar, while Emmett was having a disagreement with some eggs and bacon in a frying pan. I grinned at the thought of bacon getting the better of Emmett. It was bound to happen some day.
I looked at Alice and saw her giving me a knowing smile. I narrowed my eyes at her as I walked past, heading for the cereal cupboard. Fuck, I thought. She knew something, I just didn't know what it was. I'd gotten myself a bowl out and poured cereal into it before Emmett noticed I was there.
"Hey, Eddie!" He cried, too loudly for seven thirty in the morning. "Want some?" He asked, gesturing towards the frying food in the pan. I grimaced and shook my head. I may be getting a handle on foods that I can and can't eat, but I can tell you, food covered in a layer of grease, oil and butter I will never be able to touch. It made my stomach turn. I could never eat from a fast food joint. Never. Places like that made me want to hurl.
"Nah," I called as I poured myself a glass of orange juice and walked over to the breakfast bar to sit across from Alice. "I'm fine with cereal thanks."
I guess that he'd gathered from my tone not to push it, as he just shrugged and turned around to face the food in front of him. "Oh, well. Your loss."
I chuckled as I took a sip from my glass. "You'd think, wouldn't you?"
Emmett turned around as if to argue the point. I think that he was going to say that obviously a cooked breakfast was better than cereal, but Alice held a hand up to stop him. "Actually, Emmett. Edward's right. What he's got is a lot healthier for you than what you've got. I mean, what he's got, its got carbs, essential vitamins, calcium, and a lot of vitamin C. And then, what you've got has fat, grease, and yes it has some minerals and vitamins from the eggs and what's left of the meat, but in the end, Edward's breakfast is a healthier way to start the day." Emmett looked like he was going to argue with her again, but again she held a hand up to stop him. "Emmett! When it comes to food are you really going to argue with Edward?" I chuckled as I took another gulp of my juice.
I saw Emmett take in a long breath, calculating his chances of winning an argument about food with me, especially when I knew the caloric content as well as the fat, carbs and protein percentages of practically every item of food in the kitchen. I raised my eyebrows at him and he glared at me. "Well, no, not really." He admitted and I grinned. I looked at Alice who was smiling that knowing grin at me again. What the hell does that smile mean? I thought to myself as I pretended that I hadn't noticed. She went back to reading the magazine that she was reading, apparently disappointed that I hadn't asked her anything. I was still a damned good liar as it turned out.
Emmett finished cooking, or should I say destroying, his food and took it upstairs with him.
"Mom and Dad are going to kill you if they find out you've been eating in your bedroom." Alice said in a sing-song voice. I knew that they would. The rule of no food to be eaten anywhere other than the kitchen or the dining room had been put in place when I came home. Something that made sure that I didn't start to revert back to my old ways, but it didn't single me out amongst the others. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that. I didn't like the fact that I wasn't trusted within my own family, but then again, it made me feel better knowing that they cared enough to put something like that in place. He turned around and stuck his tongue out at her before bounding up the stairs. She turned to look at me, that smile back in place again.
"What?" I asked, placing a spoonful of cereal in my mouth.
"Have fun last night?" She asked, grinning. I really had to stop myself from choking on my cereal as I swallowed.
"What do you mean?" I asked calmly, meeting her gaze.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about Edward Anthony Masen Cullen." Why does everyone have to use my full name when they want to emphasise a point? I hated when they did that. I stared at her blankly. "You," She pointed at me. "And Bella." She pointed to the top of the stairs with her other hand before placing the tips of her two index fingers together. "Mwah." She made a kissing sound before grinning again. Trust Alice to be the one that found out.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. "Who else knows?" I asked her, not meeting her gaze this time.
"No one else." She smiled smugly at her discovery.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else please." I looked at her pleadingly, dreading the reactions of the others and she nodded. She pretended to zip up her lips, lock them up and throw away the key. I didn't really trust this gesture, but I knew something that she would have to uphold, just because she's Alice. "Pinky swear." I held out my pinky and she scowled at me before linking hers with mine. She would never be able to break a pinky swear. She still kept a promise from when we were eight with a pinky promise. I couldn't remember what it was, but she could and I knew that she hadn't told Alice. You want to keep something a secret with Alice, you make her pinky swear.
"People are going to find out sooner or later." She told me, and I nodded, standing up and walking over to the dishwasher.
"I know," I said placing my dirty cutlery and crockery into the dishwasher. "But with this family. I'd prefer it to be later."
She, like Emmett looked like she was going to argue back, but she then thought better of it and nodded her head agreeing with me. "See you later, lil bro."
"Lil bro?" I asked leaning back into the kitchen. "Okay, Alice, I'm older and bigger than you, so there is no way that that name works coming from you." I told her and she scowled. It was true. Even though she was in the same year as Jasper, and Rose, and the same year I would be in when I started up again, Alice was I think either the youngest or one of the youngest in the year. She should have been the grade below, so she should have been finishing up her sophomore year by now, but being a premature baby caused her to be in the same class at school as Rose and Jasper. I didn't even want to think of Carlisle and Esme creating Alice just after the twins had been born. Some things you are not meant to know about.
I walked upstairs and going into my bedroom I saw that Bella was up and dressed, and packing up her stuff. I leant against the door frame and grinned at her as she moved. She was mine. She would be mine forever.
I saw the rare sunlight glinting off of the ring on her finger and I felt the grin on my face widening. This girl was my fiance. I would have to get my head around that term. She saw me standing there watching her and she grinned at me, the colour rising in her cheeks again.
"Hello, love." She cooed as she walked over to me wrapping her arms around my waist and placing a soft kiss on my lower jaw.
I pressed my lips to hers in a long, soft passionate kiss and grinned at her. I heard someone walking up the stairs and felt my face fall as I remembered the annoying little pixie downstairs. "Alice knows." I whispered and Bella's face contorted in confusion.
"Knows what?" She asked, her eyes never leaving mine.
"What happened last night." I smiled sheepishly at her. She looked at the ring on her finger and I shook my head. "No, not about that. I don't think." I saw her mouth drop in astonishment.
"How?" She breathed, wondering whether or not to be worried. "How did she find out?"
"She's Alice." I gave as an explanation. This didn't seem to placate her though and she narrowed her eyes at me. "I don't know, okay? I don't know. But I went down to breakfast and she just...knew."
"Has she told anyone else?" Her voice and expression were a little less worried now. It seemed that as well as me, she knew what would happen if the rest of the family found out. I didn't really want to think about what we'd get from the others. But I can say that I know it would last for quite some time. I shook my head and she breathed out a breath she looked as though she didn't realise she had been holding.
"And...I made her pinky swear so she won't tell anyone else." I smiled at her and she grinned.
"That's good." She leaned her head on my chest. "You know, I want to find whoever invented the pinky swear and thank them personally." I chuckled my agreement and she sighed. "We'd best get downstairs." I nodded and followed her out. I didn't bother to get dressed or anything, knowing that I probably wouldn't be going anywhere today, and if I did it wouldn't be until much later.
I raised my eyebrows and gave Alice a pointed look as she smiled as we walked back into the kitchen. Everyone was up now and were all bustling about it in the kitchen. I looked at Alice again and she wiggled her little finger at me inconspicuously. I smiled at her and she grinned at Bella who smiled sheepishly back. We sat down at the breakfast bar and saw that Carlisle was indeed remprimanding Emmett for eating in his bedroom, just as Alice said he would.
Jasper smiled at Bella and placed some toast in front of her before offering me some. I shook my head and he stuck his tongue out at me, childishly. I did the same and I heard Bella and Alice laughing at us. That is before I heard an enormous squeal that I think they heard all the way across the country. People in New York would have their ears ringing at the pitch.
"Oh. My. God." I turned to look at her and she was staring at Bella's left hand. "Is that what I think it is?" She asked, looking between Bella and myself, trying to scowl at not being told but failing miserably, her face turning into a huge grin as we looked at each other and nodded. Yet another squeal erupted from my little sister and everyone stared at her, wondering what the hell was happening I expect.
"What? What? What?" Emmett cried, covering his ears. Rosalie moved next to Alice and the two of them squealed in unison. "Ah, there's two of them. What the hell's going on?"
"This," Alice said, moving, grabbing Bella's hand and pointing at the ring on her finger. "Is what's going on."
"Holy cr-"
"Emmett!" Carlisle cut him off, a grin forming on his face. "Is this what I think it is, son?" He asked me and I nodded. He grinned even wider and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Congratulations, son."
"Oh, my baby!" Esme rushed over and placed a kiss on my cheek before doing the same to Bella. "I told you boys. They are perfect together."
I looked at Bella and saw that she had gone the brightest shade of red that I had ever seen. I reached across and took her hand, giving her a look that said, "it could be worse". She rolled her eyes and nodded.
Carlisle looked at his watch. "You kids had better get off to school." I saw Bella's eyes go wide at the thought of having to spend the carride with Alice and Rose firing questions at her, with Jasper and Emmett making jokes at my expense as they would no doubt do.
I leaned over and kissed her gently. "Good luck." I whispered in her ear grinning and she shot me a glare as Alice and Rose dragged her out to the car, the boys following along.
"Now," Carlisle said, placing his hands on the breakfast bar in front of me. "Before I go to work: are you sure about this? I mean, you're both young and you're still in recovery-"
"Yes, Carlilse." I told him, holding his gaze, nodding my head slightly. "I am one hundred per cent sure about this. I love Bella more than anything. I want to make her mine. Forever." He smiled as I finished talking and patted me on the shoulder from across the table.
"Well, then, I know that there's nothing I can do to change your mind." He said and I shook my head. He grinned at me and walked out of the door with Esme following behind him, smiling lovingly at me. He was obviously giving her a ride to her office today as she normally left after he did.
I was on my own in the house. Bella was probably getting questions flung at her from all angles, and I just hoped that Alice kept her pinky swear or else she would be in trouble. I wandered through to the entrance hall and saw that the candles I had used last night were still on the stairs. I began clearing them up, thanking whatever lord was up there that I hadn't set the house on fire last night. That wouldn't have gone down well, I could tell.
After I'd cleared everything up, putting the candles in the bin and flattening the boxes down so that they could be recycled I hopped in the shower, letting the hot water wash over me, relaxing all of my muscles.
When I'd gotten out of the shower, gotten dressed and sorted I looked at the time and I saw to my dismay that it was only 11:30AM. I hadn't taken as long as I'd wanted doing everything I needed to.
I looked around for something to do, when I noticed that it was still sunny outside. I smiled, deciding to go to the beach that Bella had talked about. I know it would have been perfect to go down with her for the first time, but I wanted to go and get some fresh air. I wanted to see the ocean. I hadn't really seen the ocean before, living in Chicago. Esme and Carlilse had family that lived in Florida, and we'd gone to see them, but it was such a long time ago that I couldn't remember it all too clearly. I grabbed my keys to my Volvo and my jacket, knowing that it could be quite cold later on and left the house. I didn't bother to leave a note as I would probably be back before everyone else was anyway.
The drive down to First Beach wasn't as long as I thought it was going to be. After about fifteen, twenty minutes or so I was parked and looking out at the beautiful ocean. It was different to the ocean that I had experienced in Florida. Or at least what I remembered of the experience. Whereas the waters in Florida where a bright blue, this had more of a green tint to them. Beautiful, I thought. No wonder Bella loves to come here.
I wandered down the beach for a while, taking in what little sun there was, which to be fair was a lot for the area, and drinking in the sea air and smell. This place would be perfect to bring Bella. It didn't matter that she had been here loads of times before, I would and hopefully could make it a special place for her.
I didn't even realise that I wasn't alone on the beach until someone called out to me.
"Hey," Someone shouted. "What the hell are you doing here?"
I turned around and saw the last person I wanted to see. Only this time he was flunked by some cronies that didn't look too friendly.
Jacob Black.
Uh-oh.
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