Welcome back, peeps! I can't believe I updated The Dirty and the Delicate AND Seducing Revenge today. I think it's lack of sleep and unbearable boredom... I was in the hospital until one-thirty-ish last night with a friend, who has a mysterious stomach problem, and then pain was too much for him, so we took him to the emergency room. Then I went to a party a broke up a fight! :D Are ya proud of me?
Enjoy.
I couldn't believe I was here. I grew up here? That feels like an entirely different life when, really, it had only been five years since I'd left this place.
I was in my little black dress with my high heels and my mother's black pearls. She'd like to see that I still wore them, probably.
Not only was I going to see my mom, but I was also going to see my stepdad, Phil, and the newest addition to the Dwyer family, Seth. Apparently Renee had a kid a year after I got kicked out. He would be four-years old now...
I took a deep breath, my entire body shaking. Sure, give me a room full of assassins and I was collected. But, heaven forbid you force me to deal with my family. I don't think I've been so jittery in my whole life.
I reached up to knock on the door, but let my arm drop. A warm hand clasped mine, squeezing it reassuringly.
Oh, yeah. My "boyfriend" was with me.
Edward was wearing the same suit he had been since we left Italy. He couldn't fit into any of Jacob's clothes.
He still looked good, though. More than good, he looked like a decent boyfriend, probably better than Renee would expect from a bratty misfit like me.
I took a deep breath again and knocked on the door, feeling my every nerve shake with nervousness and anticipation.
Phil opened the door with a smile, letting us in. Renee and Seth were waiting in the porch. There was a tense, one-second pause.
Then Renee burst into tears.
"Belly, my Bella," she sobbed, latching onto my neck. I let go of Edward's hand and grabbed her fiercely, feeling the burn of tears that I wanted to shed in my eyes.
"Mom," I whispered. "I'm sorry, so sorry."
Her sobs hitched. "No, Bella, it's my entire fault. I'm sorry."
I pretended to wipe my eyes and then I pulled away with a teary smile.
"Mama, why are you crying?" Seth asked, a worried scowl settled onto his face.
The kid was cute, I couldn't deny that. He had Phil's gray eyes and black hair, but Renee's pale complexion and set chin.
"It's nothing, baby," Renee assured him. "Mama's just glad to see your sister."
"Sister?" he asked blankly, pointing at me.
"Yes, Seth, that's your sister, Bella," Phil said slowly.
"Bella," Seth murmured with a thoughtful look on his face. He looked at me with those piercing gray eyes. "I'm your brother Seth, Bella."
Phil, Renee, and I laughed at the kid. I could see myself coming home just to see him. Children were so refreshing after being around adults for most of my life.
"Who's your friend, Bella?" Renee asked, her voice full of implications.
"Oh, sorry," I apologized, shaking my head. "Renee, Phil, Seth, this is Edward Cullen my, uh...boyfriend. Edward, this is my mom, Renee, my stepdad, Phil, and my half-brother, Seth."
Edward said hello and shook everyone's hands. It was odd how ridiculously normal this scene was.
"Why don't we sit down in the living room?" Renee asked, picking Seth up.
We all went into the small living room. Renee and Phil took the couch, Seth took the floor near his toys, and Edward and I sat together on the loveseat. Edward grasped my hand and smiled at me reassuringly.
"So where did you two meet?" Renee asked, taking on the lighter, less emotional conversation.
I said "Quebec" and Edward said "Chicago". We looked at each other. Edward started laughing then, and I joined in nervously.
"You see, I always say Chicago because that's where I first noticed Bella, but she didn't notice me," Edward lied smoothly. "We both were going on a tour that takes you to Quebec and Ontario for sight-seeing, so we were on the same bus all day long, for the most part. I couldn't help but to notice her every movement from the moment I laid eyes on her." Edward glanced at me with a warm smile. "I didn't introduce myself until we made it to Quebec, so that's where Bella says we met."
I glanced at Renee and Phil. They were eating his lies like candy. Edward threw his arm over my shoulder casually.
"I asked her to be my girlfriend at Niagara Falls." I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at that. That was too much. "That was two years ago."
"Oh," Renee sighed. "That's wonderful, you two. I'm so happy for you, Bella. I'm glad to see you pick such a nice young man."
I smiled weakly at her.
"When did you break up with James?" Phil asked bluntly, getting a mean glare from Renee.
"After I graduated," I replied coolly. "And he broke up with me. I ran away from Phoenix after that. Too many bad memories."
Phil nodded, satisfied with the answer.
"Where have you been all this time, Bella?" Renee whispered, her eyes brimming with tears.
I sighed. "Well, I stayed here for a year, and then I moved to New York for about a month and a half. Then I went back and forth between Canada and the States before settling in Chicago with Edward."
Renee nodded. Then she glanced at my neck and a teary-eyed smile spread across her face.
"My pearls," she murmured gleefully.
"I couldn't give them up," I told her honestly. "I never wanted to lose you completely, Mom. I always kept a piece of you with me."
"Edward," Seth interrupted. "Do you wanna play trucks with me? You can even be the semi, if you want."
"Honey, I'm sure Edward doesn't want–" Renee began.
"No, it's fine," Edward assured her. "I'd love to, Seth."
Edward went and sat down beside Seth on the floor and grabbed the semi, pushing it around while Seth drove a tractor with a front-end loader on it.
"Bella," Renee called, breaking me away from the dream from the plane ride to Phoenix. "Would you like to come help me get coffee?"
"Sure," I answered, standing up.
Renee led me into the kitchen. She started a pot of coffee and pulled out a package of chocolate chip cookies.
"Edward seems very nice," Renee stated in a nonchalant way that implied that she wanted me to talk about him.
"He is," I answered, leaning against the counter. "Different from anyone else I've ever dated."
Renee nodded gravely. "I don't suppose you heard about Mike Newton, did you?" The colour drained from my face. "Someone murdered him about three years ago in Texas in his dorm." She shook her head. "Horrible, isn't it?"
I nodded numbly, unable to speak at the moment.
Renee sighed. "We went to James's house after you graduated, Bella. He wasn't there anymore, and neither were you. I really lost you then."
I swallowed, feeling thoroughly guilty for ever assuming that Renee didn't care about me.
"Jacob didn't tell me that," I whispered.
"Jacob doesn't know that," Renee replied, just as quietly as I had. "If I had known that you still spoke to Jake, I would have told him, but I didn't know."
"I told him not to tell you," I whispered, my voice thick with tears that I couldn't shed. "I'm sorry."
Renee shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "It doesn't matter. You're here with me now, and that's all that matters."
I nodded, my face contorted with sorrow.
"Just promise that you'll visit when you're in the area," she requested, grasping my shoulders and holding my gaze strongly.
"I promise," I vowed.
She smiled and hugged me.
We poured four cups of black coffee and one cup of milk, and brought the pack of cookies with us into the living room.
The scene Renee and I intruded on was enough to make my heart swell with longing.
Edward was tickling Seth, laughing with him. It looked so...regular. I wanted something like this badly. I'd never wanted something so badly in my life.
I didn't necessarily want Edward as my husband and Seth as my son, I just wanted something so cliché that it should make me want to roll my eyes.
I wanted to fall head-over-heels for a guy that was desperately in love with me, get married, find my suburban house with the white picket fence, get a normal job, have kids, and be happy until the day I died.
What made the longing even worse was knowing that this was something I could never achieve. I would never be normal or achieve normal. Hell, after I killed James, I probably would have to Africa just to ensure my life. I wouldn't be able to visit Renee ever again...
Enough, I commanded. I'll deal with that later.
Renee laughed at the two boys, and they stopped. Edward grinned at me before standing up and walking over to me, kissing me on the forehead and snaking an arm around me waist. This felt almost real, and I thoroughly enjoyed that feeling.
I grabbed a cup of coffee, but didn't drink any. Caffeine sent my body into overdrive, and Renee didn't need to be exposed to that ever. I was more of an animal than a human when I had too much caffeine.
We sat down in our same spots and Edward started talking to Phil about his baseball career. I had forgotten that Phil played minor league baseball for a living.
Seth walked over to me shyly while everyone else was talking animatedly about the New York Yankees.
"Bella, can I sit on your lap?" he asked bashfully.
I was shocked for a split second, but then I smiled at my half-brother. "Of course, bud." I picked him up easily and set him on my lap.
Seth leaned into me and looked at me through his eyelashes. How absolutely, painfully adorable.
"Oh, we definitely need a picture of that," Renee crooned, pulling a digital camera out of thin air. "Don't move."
I looked at Seth and Seth looked at me, still smiling. I saw a flash, but I didn't look away from Seth. I was going to savour this moment of average-ness. It would be the last time I would ever be normal.
Renee gasped. "Look at the time! It's already nine-thirty! Phil, could you give Seth a quick bath and put him to bed? I'm sorry, Bella and Edward."
We both shook our heads.
"It's fine, really," I assured her. "We can come by tomorrow, Mom. We're in town for a while."
"Really?" Renee asked with sparkling eyes. "Okay, sounds perfect. I'll phone Jacob's tomorrow."
I nodded, smiling, and Edward and I stood up.
"Bella, please have your coffee," Renee kind of scolded. "I don't want to waste it."
I eyed the cup up nervously. I grabbed it. I could stay outside if I got too out of hand, I guess. I downed the cup quickly and handed it to Renee.
"Talk to you tomorrow, Mom!" I called as I dragged Edward out the door.
"Bye, Bella!" she called back. I closed the door.
"What was the all about?" Edward asked. "You're acting weird."
A shudder quaked throughout my whole body and my eyes rolled into the back of my head. What would I do this time?
"Caffeine," I whispered through my chattering teeth. "Makes me...crazy."
Edward gaped at me.
I laughed at his worried expression, my body still shaking. That phase would pass soon.
"I'll be fine, I think," I comforted him. "I'll sleep outside if I feel particularly destructive this time."
"This has happened before?" Edward asked, shocked.
I smiled and nodded. "I ran for an entire twenty-four hours the first time and the last time I raided seventeen gun shops in one night. The most destructive I've been is when I tore my hotel room to shreds in New York a few years ago. I left before they could get any cash out of me."
"Oh," Edward replied brilliantly.
The shuddering stopped as we were about to walk into Jacob's yard. I knew what my body wanted to do, and my sense and nerves were on fire.
I looked Edward over seductively, the caffeine monster taking the form of a sex fiend.
A growl erupted from my throat.
"Bella?" Edward asked apprehensively. "What's–why are you looking at me like that?"
I leapt at him, wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling his face to mine, crushing our lips together in a passionate embrace. He wobbled a bit, but kept his ground.
Edward tugged his face away from me, and another primal growl left my throat. I was not a patient woman while I was on a caffeine high.
"What's this all about?" he demanded breathlessly, his hands holding my hips tightly.
A purr escaped my throat as I felt my core light on fire.
I leaned in and licked the sensitive spot behind Edward's ear.
"I hope you have a lot of energy, Edward," I whispered seductively. I moved my hand down his chest, near his erection. "It's going to be a long and orgasmic night."
"Oh my fucking God," he breathed, swallowing deeply.
I added Seth in as Renee's kid just 'cause I already knew that he gets along with both Bella and Edward. If I made a new kid, he might have disliked one of them for some reason.
This went better than I expected to be honest. But, then again, I didn't anticipate a kid coming into play. Do you think it went too well? Well, yeah, probably, but I'm giving Bella and Edward some happiness before bad stuff happens again.
So, do you think they're gunna bang? Or is Edward going to force Bella to stop? Next chapter, my lovelies, next chapter.
The songs for this chapter are:
Danger! High Voltage – Electric Six
Reason: Bella and Edward's foreplay.
All At Once – The Fray
Reason: Bella went back home to Renee
Animals – Nickelback
Reason: Bella acts a lot like an animal.
Review!
