DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.
I know that some of you are waiting for an update on some of my other stories, but I'm finally in the right frame of mind to finish Alive Again. It's not going to take long and is going to be an emotional ride. One that I need to stay on for the moment.
Exciting news! Saving Edward has been nominated for Best All Human and Best Angst and I have been nominated for Best Author over on the Silent Tear Awards. Will post a link on my profile ASAP :D
EPOV
Honestly, going back to school scared the shit out of me. I hadn't been to school in around eight or nine months and to say I was apprehensive was an enormous understatement.
"Are you okay, love?" Bella asked me, looking up at me as she laced her fingers through mine.
I looked down at her, trying to smile as best as I could. "I'm fine." I said softly, taking a deep breath and looking out of the car window at the school where I had suffered the worst physical pain of my life. Could I handle this? She squeezed my hand lightly and we both climbed out of my Volvo, making our way over to the rest of our family.
She squeezed my hand tighter in her own and I couldn't help but chuckle. Something told me that she was feeling the same amount of apprehension as I was about restarting school.
I just hoped that we would be able to withstand what the students of this school would throw at us. After the summer we'd had, I think we could withstand anything. But teenagers could be worse than any adult. It wouldn't take long for people to discover that we were married, but it wasn't that that I was worried about. It was when they found out that she was pregnant that I would worry. I had seen what children who had discovered something like that were like. I could only hope that the fact that we were already wed made a difference. I knew that it wouldn't have much of an impact, but still, I could hope.
We walked through the doors of the school, thankful that we were in the same homeroom class. We walked into the classroom hand in hand, and sat down, earning some perplexed stares. I recognised the two boys that Bella and I had met in Port Angeles on my birthday as they grinned and came over to us. Eric and Tyler I think their names were. I remember Bella also saying something about them while I was in the clinic.
"Hey, Bells. Hey Edward." They both grinned at us as they stood in front of our desks. "How was your summer?"
"Hey guys." Bella smiled at them, genuinely happy to see them after such a long time. "Um……it was ……… eventful, I think is the right way to put it."
"But I wouldn't change it for the world." I grinned at her and she smiled back. They both looked at us, confused expressions adorning their faces. I chuckled at them. "We got married." I told them without shame and they blinked a couple of times, before grinning.
"Wow!"
"And I thought I had a good summer, finally braving the swells." Eric ran his hand through his hair, blinking at us. He looked at our hands that were intertwined on the table, seeking out our wedding bands. They were clearly visible and he chuckled shaking his head. "Well." He put his hand over his heart, gently taking Bella's left hand in his and sighing. "We both know how much we wanted it to be me putting that ring on your finger." He was being so dramatic about it, that I couldn't help but laugh at him as he sighed again. "But I must say, no matter how much we want it, the best man won." He placed her hand back on mine, waving his finger at me. "Now, you look after her mister."
"Yes, sir." I gave him a mock salute and he nodded, finally cracking through his serious façade and laughing with us again.
"No, seriously man. I'm happy for the both of you." He chuckled, whacking me on the shoulder gently. Eric nodded, still grinning and followed him as they turned to take their seats.
"Well, that went well." Bella sighed, her eyes taking in my face. "But unfortunately, that wasn't the worst of the lot."
"I know." I sighed. I picked up her hand and kissed each knuckle gently, lingering on the finger that held my rings. "But remember: nobody can tear us apart. Not now. Not ever." I whispered and she pressed her lips to mine.
"Cut it out!" I heard an angry voice sneer. "Not everyone wants to see your mack-fest."
I looked up and saw one face that I would never forget. Mike Newton. It was because of him that I had had the heart attack. But then again, it was because of him that I had been sent to the clinic and was now married with twins on the way. So maybe I owed him a thanks. Not that I would be giving him any.
"Problem, Newton?" I asked, my voice dripping with boredom.
"Might do, Cullen." He sneered back, his tone filled with as much disgust as his expression gave away. He turned to face Bella. "So … still not come to your senses have you, Swan?"
"It's not Swan anymore." My angel shot back, a smug smile on her face as she rested her left hand on top of mine.
"What?" He asked, looking bemused.
"Are you deaf, Mike?" She asked, looking him in the eye and speaking slowly, stretching out each syllable as one would to a small child. "It's … not … Swan … any … more."
"What do you mean, it's not Swan anymore?" He blinked looking between the two of us, not matching up the smiles that we both wore to the glittering wedding bands that rested on both of our left ring fingers.
"Mike, I would have thought that even you would be able to work it out." She sighed, holding up her hand and showing him the engagement ring she'd told me he already knew about while I was off school. Watching him turn a different array of colours was incredibly amusing, especially seeing as he didn't have any time to act on it as the teacher walked in and started handing out our schedules for the next year, calling out each students name to go and get their schedule from the front.
"Tyler Crowley."
"Edward Cullen." I stood up and got mine, walking past a glaring Mike on the way. After I'd got my schedule, I noticed that he'd stuck his foot out, probably hoping to trip me up on the way back. I sidestepped his foot and leaned down to murmur in his ear. "I have two older brothers. Do you really think that would have any effect at all?" That earned me a scowl as I continued to walk back to my desk. Bella looked at me, questioningly and I shrugged, smiling at her and she shook her head.
"Isabella Cullen." There were a couple of murmurs of confusion as Bella stood up and got her schedule from the front. It seemed that the school had been informed of our marriage and her name had been changed on her records. She even got a quizzical look from the teacher, but made no motion that she noticed.
We sat there and compared our schedules, glad that we shared most of them. She was glum about having to do gym whereas I was still not allowed to partake, due to the fact that I was still in recovery. The school had been told that it was because of my heart, and to some extent it was, but for the most part, it was because the clinic would shit a brick if they found out that I was partaking in gym at school and still continuing with the workouts that I had been with Emmett and Jasper. Well, now it was just Jasper seeing as Emmett had gone off to Northwestern University a few days ago. I missed him like hell, but it was what he wanted to do and where he wanted to be.
Other than that and the fact that she had French where I had Spanish, our schedules were practically identical. Something told me I had my father to thank for that one. We grinned at each other as the bell went, making our way to our first class of the day. English. I wondered what we would be studying this year.
Sitting down in English, in a seat next to Bella, I noticed the frizzy haired brunette girl from the beach party in La Push at the beginning of the summer. It seemed that she had noticed me as well, because she looked over at me and giggled, wiggling her fingers. I turned away and looked at Bella who seemed to be laughing at the girl.
"What?" I asked her, slightly confused at her reaction. "Why are you laughing?"
"She obviously hasn't heard yet." Bella giggled, turning her head to face me, blocking the girl from her view. Probably so she wouldn't laugh anymore. "And when she does, she's going to be pissed because she didn't hear it first."
"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly confused.
"The fact that we exchanged vows over the summer. Ring any bells?" She rolled her eyes and I pretended to play dumb.
"Ummm……… was it that day? No." I cocked my head to the side, pretending to think.
"Edward!" She gasped, slapping me lightly on the arm.
I feigned hurt and pouted at her. "Of course I remember, you silly girl! How could I forget? One of the best days of my life."
"One of?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at me.
"There are a couple that rank up there." I told her, honestly.
"Like?"
"Well, the day I met you, is one." I looked at her in the eye. "Our first kiss. The day you said you'd marry me ranks high up there." I moved closer to her so that she would get embarrased about someone overhearing the next one. "The first time we made love-"
"That was the same day." She interrupted and I shook my head, holding up a finger.
"If you remember, it wasn't." She thought for a moment before realisation dawned in her eyes. "See?" She nodded, smiling.
"Carry on." She grinned at me.
"Well." I lowered my voice even more, not wanting anyone else to overhear what I was about to say to her. "Finding out about the twins is definitely joined first place."
She grinned at me, lacing her fingers behind my neck. "Really?"
"Really really." I answered with the cliché line but I didn't care. It made her smile. She pressed her lips to mine gently, drawing away as the teacher walked into the room.
English passed slowly. Much too slowly. We found out that during the first semester we would be focusing on King Lear. I'll admit it was an interesting, if not disturbing and morbid play, but I had a feeling that this teacher would be able to suck the life out of anything he was given to teach.
I made my way to Spanish after English, missing Bella's company already. I hadn't been away from her since she'd come back from Phoenix. Being together was something we both craved. We both hated being separated.
"Hey, Edward." I heard someone call my name and turned to see Jasper walking up behind me, a grin on his face. "How you doing so far?"
"Um, okay I guess." I nodded, giving him a small smile.
"Where you headed?"
"Spanish. You?" He grinned at me, chuckling slightly.
"Same." He shook his head, a fearful expression washing over his face. "I hope we don't have the same teacher as last year." He moaned quietly. "She was scary."
"Jasper Cullen? Afraid?" I feigned shock. "Never! I refuse to believe it."
"It's true, man." He sighed, pretending to be depressed over the whole matter. Truth was, he was shit-scared of his own sisters, so someone else was bound to scare him. "The great Jasper, has felt fear." I couldn't help but laugh at him and his theatrics. Maybe he should quit school and become an actor. "Seriously though man, are you okay?"
"Yes, Jazz, I'm fine." I nodded, looking him in the eye. "I know you're worried about me, but I'm fine. Honestly."
"Any run ins?" He asked me.
"What's your name? Emmett?" I fired back, chuckling as we walked into the Spanish classroom, seeing that the teacher had yet to arrive. What was it with this school? Was it an unwritten rule that the teachers had to arrive later than the students. I always thought it was the teachers that were supposed to arrive earlier.
"Can't a guy be worried about his brother?" He asked innocently and I shook my head, chuckling.
"Okay, there's being worried and then there's being paranoid." I told him. "I'm alright Jazz."
I don't know if he believed me or not, but he had to shut up about it because the teacher chose that moment to make an appearance. He groaned in frustration and I guessed that this was the teacher he had had last year. The one that he didn't get along with.
Spanish passed in a blur of verbs and sentence sequencing. Nothing that I would ever use. I wasn't particularly interested in visiting Spain or Mexico or anywhere they spoke Spanish, so the whole class was kind of redundant. But I'd mastered French and could speak it fluently when I was back in Chicago, so I really didn't see the point of taking a class I knew I could do without even trying. Defeats the object of learning really, doesn't it?
History was the same, but althroughout the class, I was acutely aware of the clock ticking closer to the hour I was dreading. Lunch. When I had been here last year, it had been alright for me. I could chose not to eat anything and even though my family hated that idea, they knew that there was little they could do to change my mind.
Now it was all different.
Now I had to eat.
That was the deal we had made in exchange for them not telling Carlisle and Esme about my relapse. I had to eat a full lunch in school each and every day. Bella hated this idea, but I knew that Alice, Jasper and Rose would make good on their threat if I didn't. They were only doing it to look out for me, so I couldn't really find it in my heart to be angry at them for it, as I would have been last year. Bella, on the other hand, had not been pleased.
The Previous Day
"Edward, can we talk to you?" I heard Alice call from downstairs. Bella and I looked at each other before climbing out of bed and making our way down the stairs.
Looking at my siblings I knew that there was something troubling them. They were all standing there nervously, looking between each other and myself. What on earth could be going on?
"What's up, you guys?" I asked as Bella and I sat down on the bottom step of the stairs.
They looked at each other again, before Rose spoke up. "We're worried about you, Edward." She said in a small voice and I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"I know." I whispered, hating what I was doing to my family. I was hurting them, just as I had been a year ago.
"Are you sure that you're okay to go back to school tomorrow?" Alice asked, a little unsure of herself. "Because I'm sure Mom and Dad would understand if you weren't. I mean, we could tell them that-"
"That what?" I snapped, my head shooting up to gaze into her eyes. Eyes that were filled with worry and fear. "That I've screwed up? That I've gone back to what I was before even though I swore that I wouldn't?"
"It's not something you could have helped Edward." Jasper sighed, looking at me, his eyes the same as the girls'. "I mean, they'd understand."
"No." I shook my head. "They are not going to find out, alright? They are not going to find out. You guys have to promise me that you're not going to tell them."
"Alright." The three of them whispered.
"But you have to eat a full lunch at school everyday." Alice blurted out, her gaze unrelenting. "And it can't be just salad either. It has to be something ……… I want to say nutritious, but that's not really a good word to describe cafeteria food, so I'm going to just stick with …… more than that. If you can do that, then we won't tell Mom and Dad."
I had felt Bella stiffening beside me and I could tell that she was not pleased with what my brother and sisters were suggesting.
"How can you ask something like that of him?" She asked, standing up. "That's blackmail, Alice and you three know it." I could see her practically shaking and I was worried about her blood pressure.
"Bella, love, calm down." I stood up and placed my hands on her shoulders.
"No." She shrugged my hands off and stepped towards them. "How can you honestly stand there and ask that of him. I know that you think you're helping, but it's really not."
"We don't know what else to do, Bella." Rose was practically pleading with her to understand.
"How about let him work through it on his own?" She suggested, her tone highly sarcastic. "Leave him be?"
"Sorry, Bells." Jasper shook his head. "We did that once before, remember? If we hadn't, maybe he wouldn't need us to do this." I winced slightly at his slight comment of how I'd been when Bella was in Phoenix. I hated that he'd brought it up, and from the look on his face, he did too. "Sorry, Edward."
Present Day
I walked with Bella hand in hand to the cafeteria, her smiling at me as we made our way up to the food line. I wasn't unaware of the people staring at us, probably having heard that we were in fact married. I didn't care though. Who was I to care that people knew I was married to the most incredible woman in the world?
Bella grabbed a tray and started piling a mixture of things on it. 'For the both of us' she'd said, stating that she knew and had 'to teach me' what the 'safe' cafeteria options were. I didn't doubt her on that one, because most of the options there looked incredibly questionable.
After we paid for the food, we sat down and waited for my siblings to appear.
"I hate that they're doing this, you know." Bella grumbled, taking a bite of the grossest looking pizza I've ever seen. I wasn't sure I wanted her eating that, especially when she was expecting. She looked at me and I raised my eyebrows, glancing at the pizza. "It's fine." She shrugged. "It hasn't killed anyone yet. That I know of." She mumbled and I looked at her, worried.
I opened the sandwich we had bought and took a bite.
"So." She gulped down a mouthful of pizza. "We have yet to discuss baby names." I looked up at her and she smirked at me. "I was thinking ……" She looked at me through her long lashes and I knew that the next suggestion would be one that I wasn't going to agree with. "If there's a boy in the mix, then we could have ……… Edward." She whispered the name and I looked at her incredulously.
"Seriously?" I asked her, having finished one half of the sandwich. "You really want to burden our possible son with an already out of date name?"
"Well," she shrugged. "It's kind of tradition, isn't it? I mean, you're Edward and your dad was Edward. I just wanted to keep that going for a little while longer." She looked at me through her lashes, her bottom lip sticking out a little more.
"Don't make the face." I grimaced turning away from her. "Don't Bella. Don't do the face." I looked at her and my resolve crumbled. "Alright! Maybe."
"Yay!" She bounced up and down in her seat, clapping like a madman. I swear, she's been around Alice far too much.
"I said, maybe!" She pouted at me again, but at least she wasn't pulling the face this time. "But what if we have two boys? Won't the other one be feeling left out?" I smirked at her but she only answered with one of her own.
"Well, that's why, we call the other one Anthony." She replied with a wide grin on her face and I knew that I wasn't going to win this argument.
"Why?" I asked her, facing her, unblinking. "Why do you want to curse our children?" I asked her, in a low voice so that no one could hear us unless they were standing right next to us?"
"I am not!" She gasped, leaning back in her chair. "I happen to love your name."
"Really?" I asked her, slightly sceptical that she meant it. My name wasn't ordinary, I'll give her that. I mean, how many Edward's do you know? Point made.
"Yes!" She practically cried, her face adamant and unwavering. "I do! I love your name!"
"What about Edward's name?" Jasper asked setting his tray down next to me as I sighed and dropped my head onto my folded arms.
"What are you two talking about?" I heard Rose ask as I heard two more chairs scrape as she sat down.
"Baby names." I mumbled, looking up at them.
"What's the problem?" Alice asked looking between the two of us.
"Edward doesn't like his name." Bella stated matter of factly and the others looked at me, completely confused and looking for answers.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Bella, love, you do realise how strange that sounded, right?" She looked at me, her expression stern, slightly pissed and, quite frankly, a little scary. "I guess not."
"Edward, I happen to love your name." She told me again, and the others were still looking confused. "I don't understand why you wouldn't want to pass it on." I could see the others nod in understanding when they heard this.
"Bella, honey." I don't think this is an appropriate conversation for right now, do you?" She started to huff at me, but then I pointed out where we were and she seemed to relax slightly.
"We're talking about it at home though." She told me, threatening me with a plastic fork. I couldn't help but be a little scared. Charlie and Carlisle had both told me to expect drastic mood swings for the next six to seven months or so. I was beginning to see what they meant.
"Okay." I said quickly and Jasper snickered next to me. I kicked him under the table and he looked at me, wondering what the hell he'd done wrong. "Wait until you have a pregnant wife." I mumbled and he looked between me and Bella, who had now, it seemed, forgotten about the little disagreement of a few minutes ago and was happily enjoying her lunch.
"I see what you mean." He mumbled back before looking down at my lunch pointedly. I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, focusing on Bella again.
The rest of the day after that passed extremely slowly and I couldn't wait to be home with Bella. I just wanted to hold her in my arms.
I just hoped that not everyday at school was the same as this one.
______________________________________________________________________________
"Edward? Edward?" I heard someone gently calling my name, and I registered a faint poking in my side. "Edward?"
I moaned and rolled over in bed, hiding my head under my pillow, vaguely wondering why my arms were empty and why I was being poked and prodded at ……… 2:43AM.
"Edward." I yelped and practically flew out of the bed as I felt a pinch on what I must say is a very tender spot. Not one any man wants to have pinched at ridiculous o'clock in the morning, by his wife.
I stood up, hearing giggling and I turned on the lamp and staring at Bella through my sleep filled eyes.
"Yes, love?" I asked, trying to stay upright. I could tell by the look on her face that she was having a craving. "What are you after?"
"Um… I don't want to say." She mumbled, looking sheepish and burying her head in the pillows.
"Why not?" I asked, crawling back onto the bed next to her.
"Because you'll think it's gross." I heard her mumble and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Most likely," honestly, I thought that all of her cravings were a little gross, but I hadn't been there before so who was I to say anything. "But still, I don't care." I shrugged.
"Really?" She looked up at me, her huge brown eyes peering over the tops of the covers.
"Really really." I used the cliché line, yet again, and she sighed. "What do you want?"
"Um…nutella and some pickles, please." I felt my nose crinkle at the thought.
"You're right." I nodded, getting off the bed anyway. "That is gross."
"Shut up." She mumbled and I made my way out of the bedroom and down the stairs, chuckling to myself. Hell, my wife has some weirdass cravings. I'll have to ask Carlisle if Esme was the same. Especially with Rose and Jasper.
It was now the beginning of November and Bella was entering her fourth month and second trimester. Thankfully, we hadn't had to deal with morning sickness, but there were a few bouts throughout the previous month when she felt more nauseous than other times. She had started showing at about ten to twelve weeks, but we had been assured by the doctor we saw that it was because she was expecting twins in her first pregnancy and because she was so tiny herself. Alice of course was overjoyed, purely because she had an excuse to go shopping with Bella now. Maternity clothes apparently. It didn't matter that Bella could still fit into her normal clothes. Alice had decided she needed to go maternity shopping, so maternity shopping she went.
After a few minutes, I located the nutella stuff that she loved so much and the pickles. Personally, I found both to be disgusting, but hell, that was my own personal opinion.
I made my way back up to the bedroom, to find Bella sitting in the middle of the bed. She grinned at me as I passed her the food, but surprisingly she turned around and placed them on the table beside her side of the bed.
I looked at her confused as she turned back around. I was about to ask if she was okay when she grabbed the front of the tshirt I'd worn to bed and crushed her lips to mine, twisting me around and straddling me on the bed.
What the hell?! I thought, slightly worried about my wife. But then again, I remembered Carlisle and Charlie advising me that the next trimester was very …… active, was the way they had both put it. I could tell they weren't kidding around.
She tore my tshirt over my head and started pressing open-mouthed kisses down my chest, getting lower and lower with every kiss. I gently grabbed her arms and pulled her up so that she was face to face with me.
"Are you okay, love?" I asked her and she nodded, her eyes wide. "I thought you were hungry."
"I am." She smirked. "Just not for nutella and pickes anymore." With that she pressed her lips to mine again, forcefully, pushing her tongue into my mouth. She pulled away and bit down on my earlobe a little more forcefully than she usually did. I let out a moan and she smirked, obviously feeling my growing erection. "Fuck me, Edward." She whispered in my ear.
"What about-" I started but she cut me off.
"They're fine." She reassured me. "Remember, the doctor said that sex won't harm them in any way." She smiled at me and I pulled her head down, crushing her lips to mine. As a matter of fact I did remember the doctor saying that. And hell, who was I to argue?
I flipped her over, resting most of my weight on my arms as I peppered kisses over her collarbones and neck. She yanked off her top and I immediately took one of her breasts into my mouth.
"Ooh, they're a tad sensitive lately, love." She giggled, running her hands through my hair.
"Sorry." I mumbled, pressing my lips to hers again.
"Quit with the apologies and fuck me, Cullen!" Where the hell had this Bella come from? Not even the Bella from our honeymoon could contend with this Bella.
Her hands ran down my back, her nails digging in and probably leaving marks as she went. I couldn't help but moan at the sensation. She yanked down my pyjama pants, freeing me from the confines of the material as I continued my assault on her throat. I felt her pushing my pants down my legs with her feet before they pooled on the ground with a soft thump. Hers were next. Those tiny boy shorts that were a pathetic excuse for pyjama pants. They were gone in seconds.
"Please, Edward." She gasped as I positioned myself at her entrance.
"What is it, love?" I asked, receiving a glare in return. "What do you want?"
"I want you……" She breathed, her chest arching up into mine, pressing herself into me. I could feel the stiffness of her nipples against my chest. I could even feel the slight bump that was forming in her belly. Physical evidence that my children were in there. "Inside of me." She whispered in my ear and I growled, thrusting into and buring myself within her in one swift motion. "Fuck!" She hissed and I could tell from her expression that it was pure pleasure.
I began thrusting in and out of her at a measured pace, not wanting to over-exert her in any way. She met my thrusts with hers in precise and syncronised movements.
"Fuck, Edward!" She panted, her nails clawing at my back, spurring me on even further. "Harder." She hissed and I obliged. I felt her walls fluttering around me and I knew that she was close. Her body was so responsive to mine, especially now in pregnancy, that she reacted to my every touch and gesture. I ghosted my hand down in between us and ran my thumb over her most sensitive little nub, causing the most incredible reaction from her. She arched up into me, pressing her entire body into me as her walls clamped down around me, bringing me to my own climax.
We both stilled completely as we rode out our orgasms together, panting and laying soft and tender kisses on the exposed skin of the other.
I gently slid out of her and she wrapped herself around me, legs entangling around mine. I wrapped my arms around her, leaving one hand to rest on her belly, as I had done ever since I found out about the pregnancy.
"That was …… wow." She breathed, still panting and I nodded.
"Fuck." I breathed back, pressing my lips to hers. "If its gonna end like that every time you wake me up, then I am not going to argue."
"I'll hold you to that." She giggled, deepening the kiss slightly, before sighing and resting her head in the hollow between my neck and my shoulder.
She could do that whenever she felt like it.
No arguments from me.
I thought that they deserved a little more fluff before anything else happens.
Yes, you read it right. We are in November now. And the prologue happens in December.
Some of you are going to hate me, but I urge you to please continue reading the story. A lot of you have followed it from the beginning of Saving Edward and I love you all for it, so please don't abandon me now. Not when we're so close.
Please review.
