Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and not to me… sigh.I also don't own Sleeping with the Enemy. The book belongs to Nancy Price and the movie belongs to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.
Sleeping with a Monster
Previously…
"I'll see you tomorrow for the barbeque?" he said smiling as he confirmed our date.
"Yes. Four o'clock, right?" I asked returning his smile.
"Right." He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips, causing my checks to blush again. Edward caressed my cheek with his free hand and mumbled, "So beautiful." And then, he was gone. I sighed as I placed my hand over spot on my cheek he had caressed. I closed the door and went to bed, dreaming about Edward.
Chapter 11 – Do You Like Him?
Edward's POV
I was kicking myself as I drove to the hospital. I could not believe my behavior towards Bella tonight. She's probably thinks I am a complete jerk. First, I bring up painful memories of losing her parents, causing her to cry. Then while I'm comforting her, I have to go and kiss her. I am such an ass. We have only really talked to each other, what… three times? I haven't even taken her out on a date. I feel like I am doing everything backwards with her.
And yet, I cannot deny the almost magnetic pull I feel towards her, as if I need to be near her. I have this immense need to protect her and I can't explain it. She looks so delicate, like she's breakable. Bella was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen with her long wavy brown hair framing her gorgeous face, her full lips that I find myself wanting to ravage every time I'm near her, her breathtaking smile, her petite body with curves in all the right places. She has pale skin that was flawless with a translucent quality that seemed to glow from within and when she blushed, she was stunning. However, my favorite thing about Bella is her deep chocolate brown eyes. I could see forever when I looked in them.
I glanced at the clock on the dashboard of my Volvo – 10:18 pm. I pulled my car into the employee parking lot at the Mayo Clinic and found a spot fairly close to the Emergency Room. Even though I was going into Pediatrics, working rotations in the ER was required. I quickly got out of my car and locked it before I headed inside. As I entered, I went into the employee locker room to grab a fresh pair of scrubs and changed. I could feel the exhaustion seeping into the edges of my mind and I hoped this shift would not be long.
When I headed home earlier this evening, I had planned to go straight to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep. I wanted to be fully awake when I took Bella to Emmett's tomorrow for the barbeque. However, when I saw her in her garage unloading the trunk of her car, all thoughts of sleep left my mind and I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Tonight was the first time I had spent time with her where I did not feel the need to play the host. I started to notice the little things about her – things I'm not even sure she was aware she was doing. The way she hummed to herself while she worked in the kitchen or the way she bit her bottom lip when she was frustrated or confused. I was pulled out of my reverie by a friendly slap to my shoulder and I looked back to see Paul, the chief resident.
"Paul?" I said. "Why am I here? I left here barely six hours ago after pulling a double. I'm not even supposed to be on call this weekend."
I was a little more than exasperated. If this turned out to be a 12-hour shift, I would be dead on my feet for the barbeque. I really wanted everyone to meet Bella. Plus, my free time this summer had been nonexistent and I had not been able to spend any time with my brother, Emmett.
"Sorry about that Edward. It really could not be helped. Ben Cheney's wife, Angela went in to labor. Garrett is on call, but his girlfriend says he has food poisoning and hasn't been able to leave the bathroom all day," Paul said apologetically. "But no worries. It's only for a couple of hours until Tanya can get here."
I shuttered at the mention of Tanya. Like me, she was in her final year of her residency. She had always made it clear that she wanted to 'hook-up' with me but I never took a liking to her. She was beautiful, but she had a cold hardness to her that I did not find appealing. I tried to avoid her at all costs, but sometimes that can be a hard thing when you work together.
"Oh well, what's on the line-up tonight?" I sighed as I rubbed the back of my neck trying to ease the sudden weariness I was feeling.
As Paul went over the patients and various aspects of their cases, I found my mind wandering back to a certain brown haired beauty – Bella. From the moment I met her, she has been in the forefront of my mind, occupying my thoughts. I could not deny the pull I felt to her. Everything about her fascinated me.
Her reactions to me have been a little confusing. She's shy and then she's flirty. She likes me and then she's scared of me. And, that was in the first fifteen minutes of meeting her. Normally this would frustrate me and, on some level, it did but for some reason I could not get enough. I wanted to know what drives this woman. Why her reactions to me are what they are. The most baffling was when she found out I was Carlisle's nephew. She looked like she had seen a ghost. She visibly paled and had a panicked look on her face. That is when I first got the impression I knew her from somewhere. Well if I was being really honest, the first time I felt something familiar was when I saved her from her clumsiness on my doorstep. The moment I touched her I felt something akin to an electrical pulse run through my body. However, I was too preoccupied with the gorgeous woman in my arms to realize my reaction to touching her was familiar.
I was a little unnerved by her reaction to my connection to Carlisle. This prompted me to call him later, after allowing for enough time for Bella to finish her call to him. Carlisle didn't give me much information other than to say that Bella had some trust issues and to be patient with her. He indicated that she had been burned in the past and was a little wary of people. Carlisle's reluctance to talk about 'friends' of his was starting to get tiring – first Marie and now Bella.
Marie. Wow. I haven't thought about her for a couple of weeks. She had been haunting my dreams ever since her fateful escape. My dreams usually consisted of me trying to help her but she would always be just beyond my reach, always a little fuzzy so I could not get a clear picture of her. And just before that monster would show up, she would slip away into the mist leaving me searching for her, worrying. I felt a need to help her, but I figured it was because of her situation. At the time I helped Marie I thought I felt some kind of connection to her but I realize now, it was nothing compared to the connection I feel with Bella.
Bella has eclipsed all others.
"Edward… Edward!" I hear Paul's voice trying to gain my wandering attention.
"Sorry Paul," I said a little sheepishly. "What did you say?"
"You okay? You look tired. Don't worry, Tanya is only a couple of hours out and then you can get some shut-eye," Paul replied. "So do you want to take the pregnant lady in exam two or the broken arm in exam five?"
"I'll take the broken arm," I sighed, suddenly not having the patience to deal with a possibly hormonal pregnant woman. Not a good sign for someone who wants to be a pediatrician, I laughed at myself humorlessly. Besides, I was too tired to take on something that could be complicated and most definitely take longer than a couple of hours to resolve. Best leave that one to the doctors who will hopefully be here longer than I will.
After several hours of work, Tanya still had not shown up, and I was fading fast. I motioned to Paul to let him know I was going to go lay down to catch a power nap during a lull in the ER. As I eased my exhausted body down onto the hard lumpy bed in one of the back rooms, my thoughts once again turned to Bella. I smiled as I recalled catching her in front of my house listening to my midnight serenade of Claire de Lune. My shift at the hospital had been a particularly difficult one so I resorted to my only solace – the piano. I smiled at her tinkling laughter as she bolted next door and I suddenly found myself running after her. She was amazing when her guard was down and her playfulness was endearing. I felt comfortable with her, relaxed. I particularly enjoyed waking up to Bella.
I could get used to that.
I drifted off to sleep thinking of Bella.
********
"Edward," Bella cooed my name.
"Mm," I hummed as she caressed my cheek before pressing her lips against mine.
"Bella," I mumbled against her lips as I wrapped my arms around her waist wanting nothing more than to pull her closer to my body and kiss her deeper. But something did not feel right.
"Who in the hell is Bella?" The voice I least wanted to hear said a little too loudly, jolting me out of my dream of kissing Bella. I opened my eyes to find Tanya pressed up against me with her hand caressing my cheek. My arms where wrapped around her waist, much to my dismay. That explains why my dream didn't feel right. She gave me a cold calculating glare through her narrowed eyes.
"What do you want, Tanya," I said flatly pushing her off me while I sat up. But apparently, she had other ideas as she pushed me back down on the mattress and quickly crawled on top me of me, straddling my waist.
"Edward, you know what I want," Her low husky voice sounded more nasally than seductive. "I know you want it too. Why fight it?" Tanya continued as she started to run her fingers through my hair.
"Get off me, now!" I hissed at her angrily feeling my stomach lurch with nausea.
Three things happened simultaneously. I placed my hands on Tanya's waist to move her off me, she leaned into kiss me just as Paul entered the room. I turned my head quickly to look at Paul, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of Tanya kissing me on the cheek while straddling me on top of the bed.
"Oh! Sorry," Paul muttered, embarrassed thinking he had interrupted something. He quickly exited the room. I growled in frustration. Esme and Carlisle, not to mention my parents, had always taught me to be a gentleman. But Tanya's little antics got my ire up and forced all chivalry out the window.
"Oh dear!" Tanya giggled feigning innocence before I unceremoniously pushed her off me and dumped her flat on her butt onto the floor. "OW! Edward!" She screeched. I leapt off the bed and glowered at her.
"Don't ever do that again!" I almost yelled at her before I stalked out of the room. I saw Paul standing outside in the hallway trying to stifle a laugh.
"I'm out of here," I grunted with a frown as I walked past him on my way to the lockers. I glanced at the clock as I retrieved my wallet and keys before going home – almost three o'clock in the morning.
I drove home a little too quickly, still angry with Tanya. Pulling into my driveway, I could not help looking over at the swing on Bella's front porch. I was secretly hoping she would be sitting there, waiting for me to come home.
Wishful thinking indeed
I peered at the empty swing before I went in my house and collapsed on the bed not even bothering to change my clothes. I was out before my head hit the pillow.
*******
The door opened to reveal a vision of beauty – Bella. I was momentarily stunned by her presence as the luscious scent of freesia and vanilla washed over me. She wore a sleeveless dress that accentuated her curves perfectly. The light blue of the fabric set off her skin making it look like fresh cream. Dark brown waves framed her lovely face before cascading down her slender back. Bella smiled at me shyly and my heart quickened. I felt nervous, like a teenager going on my first date. I was captivated. How did she have this affect on me? I have never felt a pull this strong to anyone before.
"Edward," she sighed. When she said my name like that, I wanted to forget the barbeque and keep her all to myself.
"Bella, are you ready?" I asked with own shy smile, still nervous. I wanted to go before I decided to act on my last impulse. She nodded her head as she closed the door to the house behind her.
I know it seemed a little silly to drive do Bella's place, seeing that we lived next to each other. However, I wanted to make an impression and somehow making her walk next door seemed to feel a little lazy on my part.
I placed my hand on the small of her back as we walked to the car. I could feel the heat of her skin through the light fabric of her dress. A sudden breeze swirled her hair and caused the hem of her dress to lift slightly as it dance around her long slender legs. Suddenly my thoughts took a decidedly ungentlemanly turn. I quickly shook it off before I opened the car door for her. Once she was safely in my car, I quickly got in and started to drive to Emmett's place.
I glanced over at her and noticed she was wringing her hands a little. "Bella?" I started. "Is everything okay?" She was biting her bottom lip, slightly distracting me. She let out a shaky breath before she responded.
"I just get a little nervous meeting new people," she mumbled timidly. "I guess it brings out the shy side of me," she confessed.
"Bella, you'll do fine and I'm sure everyone will love you." I placed my hand on top of hers. "You have nothing to worry about. Okay?"
She took a cleansing breath and nodded. "Okay."
********
Bella's POV
"We're here," Edward said after a 30-minute drive. We pulled up in front of a large beautiful two story brick and stucco home with a big yard.
"Nice house," I commented garnering chuckle from Edward before he exited the car. He quickly walked around and opened my door. He placed his hand on the small of my back as we walked up the path to the front door.
I bit my bottom lip when the butterflies started to tickle my stomach, nervous at the prospect of meeting Edward's close-knit group of family and friends. Edward looked amazing in his short-sleeved red button down shirt and tan cargo pants. His hair was its normal messy array looking extremely sexy, as always. He could put on anything and still look like a model. I, on the other hand, spent hours trying to decide what to wear. I finally settled on a sky blue sleeveless summer dress. It had a v-neck with a fitted empire waistline that hugged my torso before it gradually flared out at the waist. The skirt fell to just above my knees and billowed gracefully around my legs. I completed the look with a pair of silver ballet shoes. I wore one of my favorite necklaces with a silver 'B' pendant. I decided to go with easy when it came to my hair and left it down and wavy.
We stopped at the door, but Edward did not make a move to ring the doorbell. Instead, he turned to me and said, "Have I told you how lovely you look? That
color looks amazing on you."
"Thank-you." I blushed suddenly feeling self-conscious. "You look pretty amazing yourself," I said barely above a whisper.
Edward opened the door to the house not even bothering to knock. "Emmett?" He yelled from the foyer. Edward dropped his hand from my back before he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house.
"Edward!" I heard a low booming voice shout from somewhere inside the house. We walked through the beautifully appointed living room towards the back of the house. Once we reached the large family room, I saw the biggest flat screen I had ever seen. The room had large comfortable looking leather couches and a deep plush taupe carpet. The whole room was decorated like a Tuscan villa and felt warm and inviting.
There sitting on one of the couches was the biggest man I had ever seen. He was full of muscles, and stood a few inches taller than Edward's six foot something frame. He had tons of dark curls all over his head and hazel eyes that danced with mischief. He wore a green t-shirt that looked like it was painted on, showing the contours of every muscle. His dark blue jeans were equally as tight. As soon as he saw us, he stood up to greet us. He was about to say something when I heard another voice.
"Is that Edward?" I heard the beautiful voice of a woman coming from another room. "Hey, why don't you give Tanya a call and see if she wants to join us." I felt Edward's posture stiffen instantly.
"Rose, I don't think he wan…," the big guy started to say as the woman, Rose, I was assuming, cut him off.
"Nonsense, Em. I spoke to her a little while ago and she kept going on about how cozy she and Edward were at work this morning," Rose said. I could hear her footsteps as she came nearer. My mouth went dry wondering if Tanya was Edward's girlfriend. Maybe he would rather be here with her. He was most likely being nice to me by inviting me to the barbeque and probably felt nothing more than friendship for me. Sure, he had kissed me last night, but he was probably just feeling bad about my sad story. Maybe he just meant it as friendship, but it certainly didn't feel like a kiss of friendship. At least to me it didn't.
"I'm glad you're finally warming up to Tanya," Rose continued as she rounded the corner and entered the room. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was tall and statuesque with the perfect body. Her long blond hair fell around her bare shoulders tumbling in waves down her back. She had high cheekbones and crystal-clear blue eyes. She wore a purple skin-tight tank top with and an equally tight gray skirt that came midway up her thigh. Any woman caught within a ten-mile radius of Rose would take a serious hit on their self-esteem just by breathing the same air as her.
Rose stopped short as soon as her gaze landed on me. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned when she saw Edward's hand entwined with mine. I felt uneasy as I cringed a little into Edward feeling the sting of her death glare. Edward gave my hand a gentle squeeze before he turned to Rose.
"Don't believe everything you hear, Rose." Edward's voice held a warning tone.
"Rose, will you stop trying to line Edward up with that skank," Emmett scolded. "It looks like he's got it under control," he added winking at me.
That last comment earned Emmett a glare and a punch to the arm. "No need to get violent, sweetie," he murmured rubbing his arm where she hit him.
"So, Edward. Who's your friend?" Rose asked in a patronizing tone emphasizing the word 'friend' a little too much.
"Yes, Edward," A pretty soprano voice call from the far side of the room. "Please introduce us." I saw a woman that looked like a pixie. She was short, barely five feet tall, waifishly thin with black spiky hair and big black eyes to match. She looked like she was dancing as she walked across the room with a genuine smile on her face. By her side was a tall blond man with the same crystal clear blue eyes as Rose. He had leonine features and a lean toned build. He smiled at me and I felt a little calmer.
"Bella, this is my brother, Emmett, his wife, Rosalie, Jasper Whitlock, Rose's twin brother and Alice Brandon, Jaspers girlfriend," Edward said as he pointed out the four people in front of me.
"Everyone. This is Bella." Edward offered no explanations as to the nature of our relationship. I was hoping he would give some indication so I would know where his head was as well. If he had a girlfriend or someone he was dating, it would help me to keep from reading into his actions too much.
"Welcome!" Emmett boomed as he put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me to his side. "Dude." I heard Emmett say over my head to Edward and they bumped fists together. I glanced up at Edward who playfully rolled his eyes at me, but the big grin on his face gave him away.
As soon as Emmett released my shoulders, a little fairy wrapped her arms around my waist and gave me a rib-crushing hug. Wow! She sure was strong for such a tiny thing.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Alice sang in a high voice causing me to giggle.
"Easy Alice!" Jasper laughed. "We don't want you to break Bella with your enthusiasm." His eyes sparkled as he laughed at his girlfriend. "It's good to meet you Bella," he added turning his attention to me as he pried Alice off me.
"It's nice to meet you all." I smiled at everyone there. "And thanks for letting me crash your party," I said turning to Emmett. It did not escape my attention that Rose had left the room during my exchange with the rest of her guests. I shook it off before I looked up at Edward smiling, but he had a frown on his face as he looked off in the direction Rose had gone. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and gave him an understanding smile. It wasn't his fault if she didn't like me. Besides, if Edward was dating this Tanya woman, Rose was probably worried about Edward bringing me. Maybe Edward was not dating her exclusively. I was going to drive myself nuts if I kept up this line of thinking. So, I decided to put it out of my mind and just enjoy the afternoon. I would deal with it later when I was alone and could focus without any interruptions. Being close to Edward made it hard to concentrate because he was such a huge distraction.
"Hey! If Edward asked you to come, you must be something else. He never brings anyone to these little get togethers," Emmett said grinning at me.
"This is the perfect example why I haven't brought a date to these things in the past, Em," Edward said as he tried to mock punch Emmett in the stomach. Date – he said date. My heart jumped at that little admission from Edward. Edward looked down at me and smiled. "Would you like to go outside?"
"Sure," I said no longer able to suppress the big smile on my face. And frankly, I didn't care what anyone thought, least of all Rose.
Let her have Tanya, I'll take Edward any day.
"May I join you?" Alice said as she wound her tiny hands around my free arm.
"Of course, you little pixie," Edward replied teasing her as he tried to ruffle her hair, but she was too quick for him and dodged out of the way, pulling us towards the door to the backyard.
"Edward, why don't you get us some drinks?" Alice dismissed him. "I want to talk to Bella alone," she smirked. I looked up at Edward a little panicked at the prospect of what Alice wanted to say to me. After Rose's reaction, I wasn't sure I wanted to be left alone with anyone besides Edward. Edward smiled reassuringly at me, leaned down and kissed my check, I'm sure in an effort to calm my fears.
"What would you like to drink?" he asked.
"I'll have whatever you're having," I said, unsure of what my options were.
"I'll take bottled water," Alice said to Edward over her shoulder before she pulled my hand out of Edward's on our way out the door. We quickly made our way over to a patio set under a gazebo across the yard.
"So, tell me about yourself," Alice said getting straight to the point. Her interest in me appeared to be sincere and I could not detect any of the hostility I felt from Rose.
"What would you like to know?" I replied not sure if she wanted the long boring version or the short boring version of my manufactured life.
"Well…judging by the way Edward was plastered to your side; I'm probably not going to get another opportunity to get you alone to ask questions for the rest of the evening," she said in a hushed voice. I laughed at her honesty and felt myself relax.
"Go ahead and ask your questions," I acquiesced, but I raised my hand as she opened her mouth to speak. "I won't promise to answer all your questions though," I added slyly.
"We'll see," Alice muttered under her breath. But before I could say anything she asked her first question. "Are you dating Edward?"
"I don't know if you could say that. This is our first date; in fact I wasn't even certain it was until he said so to Emmett," I said honestly.
"How did you meet?" she continued quickly.
"I'm renting his house, the one next door to him," I replied
"Really! I didn't know it was even available," she mumbled. Alice continued her hurried interrogation knowing she didn't have much time to question me before Edward returned.
"Do you like him?" she whispered, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Yes." I blushed as I answered honestly.
"Do you really like him?" she pressed.
"Yes," I said, as I blushed even redder. Alice scowled at my one word answers as her eyes darted towards the back door of the house.
"How much do you like him?" she said motioning for me to answer quickly.
"More than he likes me, I'm afraid." My voice tinged with a little sadness. [A/N: Taken from Twilight, pg 205.]
I heard the chair next to me shift a little and looked over to find Edward sitting down. For a brief moment, his face looked a little saddened, but he quickly replaced it with a smile as he turned to Alice and handed her a bottle of water. I wondered if he heard what I had said. Why would that make him sad? It didn't take me long to figure that out. I lived right next door to him. He's probably worried about the awkwardness that occurs when one person does not return another's admiration. I hoped that he didn't hear my little admission to Alice.
"I iced tea okay?" Edward asked smiling at me as he handed me a glass of tan liquid.
"Yes, thank-you," I said politely not quite looking him in the eye, afraid of what I might see there. I didn't want the pity stare or the look of apology telling me he did not return my feelings.
A/N: Sorry I didn't get this one out sooner but I did make it longer. It's been a busy week with sick kids, the Twilight Movie, a school play and my husband's work party. Hope you all enjoyed Edward's POV. BTW, I'm not done with the bbq so continues into the next chapter. ;)
Okay now for the accolades: To the following wonderful readers who reviewed this chapter: goldeneyedfanpire, bitemeplease235, Transfiguration, Loulabelle, barelypassing4sane, ThePurpleDragonOfAmazingness, BellaCullen435, junebug84, ErinM844, Iffy, Miss FHorn, narniagirl17, VanessaGirl123, iloveedwardanthonymasencullen, twilightobession, ReadBelongToAnotherWorld, Bunnybabi, Loie, ThisIsMyDisguise, SarcasticProcrastinator-AMLF, FRK921, Bennyjo4, jvanshuff, orlibluver and itMUSTbeLOVE53. THANK-YOU! 25 reviews! That the most I received for any one chapter! You guys are FANtastic. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to respond to them. I will have the next chapter out before Thanksgiving, but will probably not get back to the story until the weekend. I get to host Thanksgiving dinner, so I'll be pretty busy. – SavageWoman