Hello readers!
I was hoping to have this chapter posted earlier this week, but after a night of wild weather a few days ago, I woke up to find my living room and kitchen soaked. Stupid weather...it's supposed to be summer here tomorrow!
Thanks to all of you wonderful readers for supporting this story. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of reading it as I do writing it for you.
Super special thanks to madkins, jansails, frostedglaze, VioletDream13 & "Guest" for your fantastic reviews, thallack, Mdizzle181 & dmoffatt for adding this story to their favourites lists, and to merc80 for following me. You guys provide just the motivation I need to get through this miserable week and post this chapter. You're all incredible and I couldn't be more grateful to have your support.
I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, so despite how positive all your reviews have been so far, if it sucks please feel free to let me know.
:-D
EPOV
"Edward!"
I pick up my pace until I'm almost jogging down the deserted road ahead. The sound of her feet slapping on the asphalt gets closer but I refuse to stop or turn around. She sounds angry and I really don't want my last memory of Bella to be of her yelling at me again.
I want to remember all the times she smiled at me and how beautiful she looked when she laughed. And I know when I get home, I'm going to spend an inappropriate amount of time remembering how soft her lips were and how incredible her body felt pressed against mine.
"Edward!"
Wow, she's either really loud or she's-
"Stop!" Bella shouts as she grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop in front of her. I expect her to be furious and to violently lash out at me.
I don't expect her to burst into tears and bury her face into my chest.
Do girls normally cry when they're angry?
"Bella?" I ask hesitantly as she clutches onto my shirt. I don't know what to do. Should I hug her or would that just make things worse?
Who am I kidding? She's crying all over my chest, things couldn't possibly get any worse.
"Shut up," she sobs without lifting her head. "I'm so mad at you right now."
"Okay," I say slowly, lifting my arms to gently rub her back. "But why are you crying?"
She pulls away and stares up at me with her beautiful sad brown eyes. The look she gives me almost breaks my heart.
"Because you left," she whispers as fresh tears start to trickle down her cheeks. "You left me, Edward. Why would you do that?"
"You all looked so happy to have Emmett back," I say sadly, looking away to avoid her eyes. "I...I just thought you would be better off if you stayed with him."
"With Emmett?" she asks as the others approach us. "Are you insane? No-one wants to stay with Emmett!"
"Hey, that's not very nice," I hear Emmett mutter in the background.
"Shut up and go away!" Bella turns to snap at him, before looking back at me and sighing. "We chose you because we trust you, Edward, not because you're the toughest or the most popular. You're dependable and that's the kind of leader we need."
"Thank you," I whisper. I can't believe she still thinks I'm dependable after the way I've acted. I've been such an idiot, running away like a coward.
"My pleasure," she smiles, running her hands up my chest and wrapping them around my neck. "But you can't run off like that again, okay? I don't think I could deal with any of this madness if I didn't have you here."
"Bella..." I sigh. Her eyes keep nervously darting between my mouth and my eyes. It's a little distracting considering how badly I want to kiss her right now. I think I know why she's doing it but I have to ask just to be sure. "Is there something stuck in my teeth?"
"Huh?" she asks, looking kind of dazed. Maybe she's tired instead. I often find it hard to focus when I'm sleepy and knowing that Bella hasn't slept in over 24 hours, I can't blame her for being a little distracted.
"I said, do I-"
"Look, I hate to interrupt your little...whatever, but aren't we supposed to be in a race against time here?" James asks irritably, looking at us with a smug expression on his face.
Something tells me he doesn't hate interrupting at all...