Chapter 3: Mutual Feelings

~~~:Edward's Point of View:~~~

"There is no other girl." He lowered his voice. "There never has been."

Okay, I had just told her that I loved her. If God is on my side today, she won't freak out. I took a deep breath and waited for her response.

Bella took a step toward me and put her palm against my cheek. Here it comes; the I'm-sorry-but-I-don't-feel-the-same-way speech. I wouldn't blame her. She probably had her eyes set on another guy. Maybe I guy like Mike Newton. I don't know what the girls see in him, but apparently it's a whole hell of a lot. He just seemed like an annoying chipmunk to me.

"That's perfect." She said honestly.

I shook my head. Had I heard her right? "What?"

"That's perfect because I've been hoping you were talking about me." She dropped her hand from my face. She held one of my hands with two of her own. "I loved you like a brother when we were little, but somehow, all of that changed. I'm not sure when it did, but I'm glad it did." She brought my hand up and kissed the back of it. She then placed my hand over her heart. It was racing and so was mine. This was the first time I had ever touched her like this. It sent a jolt of excitement through me.

The feeling was mutual.

"I've loved you since we were kids. And I'm sorry that I was being distant today. I just thought you wouldn't want me like that. I mean, you could have any guy in the world and you chose me. Why is that?" This was a question I had been asking myself for a while.

Bella scoffed. "What do you mean, 'any guy in the world'?"

"Trust me, your name gets thrown around a lot in the guys locker room. But don't worry; I make sure they respect you." There was no way in hell that I was going to let any guy, no matter who it was, talk inappropriately about my Bella.

"Well, that's flattering."She giggled. I smiled

Bella and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. She fell asleep on the couch. I put the afghan over her to keep her warm. I loved taking care of my Bella. And that's what she was; my Bella.

Charlie came home around five. I told him that I had come over to check on Bella and that she's fallen asleep on the couch. He said he was much obliged. I kissed Bella's forehead and went on my way home.

The drive home was a blur. I couldn't stop replaying the afternoon's happenings in my head. Then I realized something. Bella and I hadn't really talked about us becoming and us. Was she my girlfriend now? Ugh! Now I was even more confused!

"Where have you been, Eddie boy?" My mother said when I walked in the door. I hated it when she used that nickname.

"I went over to Bella's after school to check on her. She left after lunch." I explained. I was still lost in my thoughts and my mother noticed.

"All right, what's on your mind?" She sat down at the little table in the corner of the kitchen. I sat down, too.

"Well, I sort of told Bella that I love her and she said she feels the same way. But, the problem is, I'm not sure where we're going from here. We never really talked about us." I didn't usually have these kinds of talks…with anyone. I was more of a…loner, I guess it would be called.

"Then talk to her about it." Esme said.

"It's not that simple."

"Oh, I think it is. What's the worst she can do? She's not going to bite, I promise." Esme laughed. That made me relax a little.

"I guess you're right. I'll call her later and see if she's feeling any better. Night, Mom." I kissed her cheek and headed upstairs. I closed the door of my room and put on some music. It was time to relax.

I messed around on the computer and went through my closet to pass the time. To my surprise, my closet held a lot of stuff from my childhood. Some of those things were rather embarrassing. Like the framed picture of me as a baby laying on a blanket in the living room…butt naked.

Finally, the clock said 8:45pm. I thought that would be a reasonable time to call Bella. If she didn't pick, then she was probably still sleeping and I'd talk to her tomorrow. I picked up my phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded hoarse. I hoped she wasn't getting worse.

~~~Bella's house: Bella's point of view~~~

"Hello?" I answered though I already knew who it was. Of course Edward would call later than what I wanted him to. I wanted him to call because I had to ask him where this put us in our relationship.

"Hey, Bella. It's me." Edward said. He sounded nervous. What could've possibly made him nervous? "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, a little." Of course I'm feeling better now that you finally called. "I'm glad you called. I have a question for you." It was now or never.

"Really? I called because I had a question for you." He chuckled. "You first."

"Okay," I took a deep breath. "Where are we? In our relationship, I mean."

Edward let out a loud laugh. I had to hold the phone away from my ear because he was being so loud. "Edward Anthony Cullen! Why are you laughing at me?" I demanded. I knew he had more class than that.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. It's just that, that's what I was calling to ask you about. I have no clue what our relationship status is."

I sighed. "What do you want it to be?"

"I want to love you." Was his honest answer. "I want to drive to school with you in the passenger seat. I want all the guys that have had their eye on you to eat their hearts out. I want to walk hand and hand with you through all the tough times. I want to be there when you cry and when you smile. I want there to be an us."

Unpredictably, I found myself tearing up. I had found the sweetest, kindest man on the planet and I was about to call him mine. "There is now an us."

So, what do you think? Good? Bad? So horrible that I should delete the story and quit writing? Tell me what you think. The reviews keep the story going!

~Kelli(jellyjo2014)~