Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters.

Hey Readers: Just a quick note to let you know a few things about this chapter. It's a lot lighter than the other chapters have been. I wanted to give Edward a break and a chance to just enjoy Bella. I hope you all don't find this chapter boring for that reason. Trust me, more drama is coming. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. :o)


Chapter 13

I crawled out of my sleeping bag and then reached down to grab Bella's hands. I pulled her to her feet then wrapped my arms around her. I kissed the top of her head and then pulled her back. For a few seconds I just stared into her eyes, losing myself in their depths. Then I smiled. "I feel so awake."

Bella's eyes roved over my face. "You look more awake." Her fingers went to my face and gently traced under my eyes. "No more purply smudges."

I took her fingertips and kissed them gently. My stomach chose that moment to growl.

"Hungry?" Bella laughed.

"A bit," I said smiling. I tugged on her hand and lead her in the direction of the kitchen. Once there, I opened the cupboard containing the cereal. I looked at Bella and waved my arm, displaying the many boxes of cereal. A frown pulled her lips down. "You don't like cereal?" I asked, suddenly unsure.

"No, I like cereal just fine. It's just…can I make you breakfast?"

I closed the cupboard door. "Yeah, I mean if you want to?"

A huge smile spread over Bella's face, erasing the frown.

"Wow," I whispered.

"What," Bella asked as she began to open cupboards.

"You have the most beautiful smile in the world," I said, refusing to feel awkward or embarrassed for stating the truth.

Bella looked over her shoulder, the smile still there. "Thanks."

"Can I help?"

Bella shook her head. "Trust me, I like my space when I cook. You can sit over there." She pointed at the bar stools at the counter.

"Yes ma'am." I saluted her then went to sit down.

I watched in silence as she pulled eggs, cheese, milk, and ham out of the refrigerator. She cracked the eggs into a bowl and then used a fork to mix the yolk. "Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"What was it about?" she asked quietly. She didn't take her eyes off the eggs she was beating.

I knew she was talking about the dream. I sighed. "More of the same, basically. I was late getting home from school. Not a good thing because dinner needed to be ready by five. My mom's husband came home and dinner wasn't near ready. That was against his rules, so he was going to hit me." I gave her the shortened version.

"That really happened?" At my nod, she shook her head. "He beat you because you didn't have dinner ready?" I nodded again. "Why were you late?"

"My Spanish teacher asked if I would help out a student who was from Mexico. He needed a translator. Anyway, on that day he didn't understand his English homework, so I stayed for bit to help him out."

I glanced at Bella and saw she had stopped mixing and was holding the fork tightly in her hand.

"What about your mom?"

"I told her to go to her room, so she didn't get hurt," I said, slightly confused.

"No. Why didn't your mom start dinner? She knew, right? She knew the rules?"

"Yeah." I shifted uneasily. "I mean, she knew what would happen. But uh, she probably figured that I would get home in time." I looked down at my hands. "I mean, she had a lot to deal with, she didn't need to worry about that too."

I heard the fork clang against the bowl. "That's just wrong," Bella said, anger in her voice.

"Bella, please." I met her eyes again. "It's fine. It's over now."

"It's not fine. She was your mother, she should have--,"

"Stop. Just stop." My hands fisted as I looked at her. "Everything got messed up. I don't know what happened. But it just did. The only thing I could do was protect her the best I could. Right or wrong, it was the only way I could live with myself."

Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. "Okay." She opened her eyes and looked at me as she picked the fork back up. "I just really don't like the idea of anyone hurting you. Especially over something as ridiculous as dinner not being ready."

Now I smiled. "But he didn't, not last night. You were there last night, Bella. You rescued me." My fists eased as I remembered her in my dream, standing in the bright light, helping me sleep for the first time in so long.

She nodded, smiling briefly at me. The sound of the fork hitting the sides of the bowl rang through the kitchen again. She finished making breakfast in silence and I watched her, not sure what to do or say. Something was obviously bothering her, her movements were jerky. She had her back to me as she worked over the stove, so I couldn't see her eyes. I played back the conversation in my head. Maybe I had said too much. Maybe the monster had appeared within me. Maybe she had seen it. I swallowed hard and watched her back. I tried to step back, distance myself from the feelings that were developing in side of me. When she told me she wanted nothing to do with me, I had to let her go.

No matter how much it hurt me, I had to give her freedom. She deserved so much better.

A plate with an omelet appeared in front of me. I gazed at it, but my appetite had dissipated.

And then suddenly my face was pressed against her chest, her arms wrapped around my head, tangling in my hair. I felt her lips push against my hair as she rocked me back and forth. Stunned, I did what felt natural and wrapped my own arms against her waist.

"Bella?" I asked after awhile.

"I want to go do something fun, with you, today." Bella said, still holding my head tightly against her. I felt her lips against my hair again.

"Okay," I loosened my hold on her waist, figuring that she would let go. But she didn't, so I tightened my grip on her waist again. "Bella?" I asked again. "Are you okay?"

Now she did loosen her arms, enough that I could look up at her. Her hands stayed fisted in my hair. She kissed my forehead. "Yeah, Edward. I'm fine." She smiled. "I just want to spend time with you."

My eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

She laughed softly. "I am very sure. I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

I didn't quite understand what was going on in her head, but her smile lit up her face again as she tenderly smoothed my hair back.

"You should eat your omelet, before it gets too cold," she said now, releasing me completely.

I felt my forehead furrow as I looked at her. But I picked my fork up anyway and cut into the egg. Cheese and ham exploded from the inside. "Oh wow." I scooped it up and put the gooey creation into my mouth. Flavor exploded and I had to close my eyes. I chewed slowly, savoring the taste. "Oh my God," I breathed after I swallowed. "That is delicious."

Bella giggled from where she sat next to me. "You like?"

"Yeah," I mumbled around my new mouthful. I swallowed, "Amazing, beyond amazing, actually." I shoveled more egg into my mouth. I couldn't talk anymore as I sat and enjoyed the most remarkable omelet I had ever had. I barely noticed Bella next to me, eating her own breakfast. When my plate was scraped back, I sat back and looked at her. "Is there anything you can't do?"

She laughed. "I'm sure there are lots of things. Here." She handed me a plastic baggie.

"What's this?" I took out the brown square.

"Emmett attacked the brownies last night while you were playing the piano. Somehow, the girls managed to save you one."

I took a bite. "Oh my God," I groaned. The eggs were amazing, but this brownie went beyond that. "No wonder Emmett and Jasper were so excited."

"I'm glad you like it."

I rolled my eyes. "Like is not the word I would use right now."

Her eyes sparkled. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I was thinking something more like, would defeat a thousand armies just to have a bite."

"I'll make you more, promise." She leaned over and kissed me.

"You said you wanted to do something today. Did you have anything in particular in mind?"

"Hm." Bella tapped her finger on the counter. "I think we should go to Port Angeles. There's a pretty cool bookstore there and I am in need of books."

"Sure." I smiled at her. "I'll clean up while you get ready and then we can take off. Sound good?"

"I can help you."

"No, you cooked, I'll clean. Oh, do you know if Carlisle or Esme are around?"

"Esme left earlier. I think Carlisle is around somewhere."

I stood up and gathered our dishes. "Go get dressed."

I smiled as I watched her disappear from the kitchen. I took the dishes over to the counter and began to wash them. My smile faded a bit as I remembered her reaction to hearing my dream. I still didn't quite understand. At first I had thought she was mad at me, ready to say she had had enough. But then she had held me and wouldn't let go. And she wanted to spend the day with me. So maybe she wasn't mad at me after all.

I stared out the window as I continued to wash dishes. The earlier sunlight had given way to clouds, but although the sky was gray, so far the rain had held off. Despite the gray skies, the world looked brighter to me. The trees outside the window seemed clearer, the green leaves more in focus than they had been. I didn't feel like I was looking through a fog anymore. That haze of exhaustion that had surrounded me for the past month had lifted. Because of Bella. She had to be the most beautiful, sweet, complicated person I had ever met.

After finishing the dishes, I ran up to my room to get ready. I showered quickly, then stood in front of my closet, debating what to wear. Alice had massively complicated my closet. Before, I had a couple pairs of jeans, some t-shirts, a few sweatshirts, a single pair of shoes. Now, my closet was jammed with what Alice called "outfits." Now I had to worry about matching. "Ugh," I groaned as I pulled out a blue and white striped button down shirt. "Jeans?" I muttered to myself. Did that match? I held up the jeans with the shirt. They were both blue. That had to match. I pulled on the shirt and jeans and then went for shoes. Again, way too much choices. It was taking me all day just to get dressed. This was ridiculous. I grabbed a pair of tennis shoes and called it good. I glanced at the mirror and tried to tame my unruly hair with my fingers. Shaking my head, I gave up and headed out of my room. When I passed Carlisle's office, I saw that the door was open.

I knocked hesitantly and waited for him to look up.

"Edward," he smiled when he saw me. "You look refreshed this morning."

I grinned, "I had a good night's sleep. Carlisle, I wanted to ask you something."

He nodded and I stepped closer. "Um, Bella and I are going to Port Angeles today. And I was wondering. Um." I stopped. I couldn't do this. "I just wanted to let you know, is all."

Carlisle's smile grew and he opened the top drawer of the desk. "Here." He held out a flat, black piece of plastic. "I already called and had you added to the list of people who can use it."

Somehow the man had figured out exactly what I was going to ask for. Relieved, I took the plastic money and vowed to myself that I would only spend what was necessary. "Thank you," I said sincerely.

Carlisle smiled again and shook his head. "Edward you are a Cullen now. You are entitled to all that the name brings."

"We won't be gone too long," I promised.

"It's fine Edward. Just be safe and have a good time."

"Thank you," I said again as I walked out. I carefully tucked the credit card into my wallet and then continued downstairs. Bella stood in the kitchen waiting for me. She turned when I entered the room. She was wearing jeans and a blue blouse that did amazing things to her complexion. "Hey beautiful," I said.

Her cheeks bloomed. "Hey handsome," she said almost shyly.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

I took her hand and we walked out of the house. When we got to the Volvo, I held the door open for her and then hurried over to my side. I got in the car and the engine roared quietly to life.

"You like it," Bella commented.

"Like what?" I looked at her, perplexed.

"The car, the noise it makes when it starts. You grinned as you turned the key."

Laughing and nodding, I guided the car down the driveway. "Yeah I do. But I mean, come on? How can you not like this car? It's a beautiful machine."

"You are such a guy," Bella stated.

"You wouldn't want it any other way." I looked at her sideways and smiled at her crookedly.

Bella's smile faded as she looked at me and her eyes seemed to glaze over.

"Bella? What happened? What's wrong?" I looked away and decided to pull the car over.

"Edward you really shouldn't do that." Relief flooded me as I looked at her and saw her smiling at me again.

"Do what? What happened?"

"Dazzle people," she said. "You smile like that and you are just plain gorgeous."

"I dazzle people? That is a little extreme, don't you think?" Red was furiously spreading through my face.

"No. I don't think it's extreme. It's very true. You dazzle me frequently."

Now I rolled my eyes and tried to fight the extreme embarrassment snaking its way through me. I cleared my throat and tried to think of something clever to say. "Do you want to listen to music?" Changing the topic. Not very clever.

Bella leaned forward and fiddled with the radio. Not finding any radio stations, she switched to the cd player. Rock blared out of the speakers and Bella smiled as the music we had discussed in the woods filled the car. She began singing along and I joined her. The music made the hour long drive fly by. I found a spot on the main street and parked. Again, I hurried over to her side and opened the door for her. She beamed at me as she got out.

"What's the bookstore called?" I asked her as we walked down the street, hand in hand.

"Port Book and News." She pointed and I saw the store just down the street.

"Any particular book you are looking for?" I asked as I opened the door to let her in.

Bella shrugged. "Not really. I just wanted to look."

I followed her into the store and she headed right for the classics. I watched as she reverently touched the spines of the books. She pulled one out and gently fingered the cover. I had no idea she had such an appreciation for books. "Jane Austin?" I asked softly.

"Yeah. My favorite author. I've read Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice about a thousand times." She carefully placed the book on the shelf. "But this one," she said as she pulled another book down, "Is my absolute favorite."

"Romeo and Juliet?" I lifted my eyebrow.

"Do you have a problem with the greatest love story of all time?" Bella hugged the book to her chest and scowled at me.

"Well, it's just Romeo. I mean, he goes from being in love with Rosaline, then loving Juliet. Then he kills Juliet's cousin. Not the smartest move ever."

Bella huffed at me. "But the love story is beautiful."

"Okay," I gave in, not wanting to argue with her. "You know, you are beautiful when you get upset." I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then kissed her cheek. I spent the next hour following her through the bookstore. She picked up book after book, sometimes just fingering the spine, sometimes reading the back summary. Eventually she found a book that caused her to stop her perusal. She loving caressed the cover and looked at me.

"I think I will get this one," she said softly.

"Wuthering Heights?" Again my eye brow shot up.

"Yes. Again Edward, beautiful love story."

I shook my head. "If you say so." I plucked the book from her fingertips and walked to the cash register.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she hurried to keep up with me.

Not saying a word, I handed the book to the girl behind the counter. As she scanned the book, I reached for my wallet and pulled out the black credit card Carlisle had given to me. A hand shot out of no where and held on to mine. "No Edward, you can't start buying me things."

She pulled out a wad of cash from her jeans.

"I want to Bella, please let me." I couldn't explain it to her, but I had never been able to buy a present for someone that I cared about. She wouldn't understand how much I wanted to do this for her, after all that she had given me. "It's just a book," I said quietly. Just a book, but I had seen the light in her eyes as she had gazed at the cover. It meant something to her and I wanted to be the one who gave it to her. "Please, let me." I repeated.

Bella's grip on my wrist loosened as she looked into my eyes. Confusion swirled through the brown depths and I knew she didn't understand the intensity of my need to buy her this book. She let go and looked away, fiddling with the display of bookmarks on the counter.

I paid for the book and accepted the bag from the girl. I took Bella's hand and lead her out of the store.

"What was that about?" Bella asked when we were outside.

I knew she wasn't going to let it go. "You make me feel happy when I am around you. Safe. Content. You've given me hope that I haven't known before. When you held that book, you looked happy. Content. I wanted to give you back some of what you've given me." I shifted my weight, feeling awkward. "I know it's just a book. I know buying it for you doesn't really give that to you. But I like knowing that when you hold that book, read it, smile at it, you'll know that I bought it for you. So in a way, it'll make you think of me." I finished in a rush, feeling like every kind of idiot. I really should have just let her buy the book herself.

"That is probably the single most sweetest thing anyone as ever said to me," Bella whispered. She lifted up on her toes and pressed a kiss to my mouth. "Thank you."

I smiled against her lips. "You are welcome."

We headed towards City Pier, holding hands as we walked. We walked along the Pier until we hit the very end. Bella walked up to the rail and rested her hands on the wooden beam. I stood behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. I rested my chin on the top of her head.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, looking out over the ocean.

In the distance I could see the white triangles of sails against the blue gray of the water. "Yeah," I said, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"Edward?" Her hands covered mine where they rested on her waist.

"Hmm?"

"There's something that I want to tell you." Her hands rubbed mine. "When I first moved to Forks, Alice was the very first person to talk to me. We hit it off immediately. We were basically inseparable. And because of that, Emmett and I were friends too. The three of us basically did everything together. Sure, we had other friends at school. But usually it was the three of us."

I nodded against her head, not sure where this was going.

"Then, the Hales moved to Forks during the last semester of our freshmen year. Alice fell hard for Jasper. It was like she knew that they were meant to be together. His first day, she walked right up to him and said 'What took you so long?' They've been together ever since."

"That sounds like Alice," I said.

"Yeah. Emmett took a little longer. But one day we all went hiking down around the river. Rosalie was hanging out with us because of Jasper and she was friends with Alice. Emmett went off by himself like the big oaf that he is. Got himself lost and nearly attacked by a bear. Anyway, Rosalie sort of freaked out when he went missing. In those two hours, lets just say that Rosalie realized how important he was. The rest is history."

"Wow, that's quite a story." I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"After that, it was the five of us. Going everywhere together. Unless they wanted private time. I didn't really mind being the fifth wheel. I mean, they are my best friends and I know they don't see me that way. In fact, I never really noticed. I had friends, family, school, books. I didn't notice anything was missing." She paused for a second, as if gathering strength. "Then this beautiful, amazing person walked into my biology class. And I realized that I didn't have anything, and that he was everything."

"Bella," I gasped, realizing where she was going.

She turned in my arms so I could see her face. Her brown eyes sparkled with tears. "I'm not going to say the words Edward, I know you aren't ready. But you have to know how much you mean to me. I know it hasn't been very long, but when you walked into that classroom, everything changed."

"I felt it too," I whispered. "That sparked that changed everything. I didn't want to care, I know you deserve better than--,"

My words were disrupted by her mouth. She kissed me hard then pulled away. "Edward, it's me who doesn't deserve you. You are incredible. You can't see it because of all that you've been through. But you are selfless and kind. And despite the horror you lived, you walked away from it with your heart intact. It would be so easy for you to bitter and spiteful. For you to hate the world and all those in it." Her hands cradled my cheeks and I reached up to encircle her wrists. "But you don't. Instead, you are good to your very core."

I pulled her to me then, holding her tight against me. "You don't know that, you don't know everything about me."

"I don't have too. Nothing you can say can change that. Nothing. So don't even try."

I didn't want to ruin this moment, so instead of fighting with her I pulled her away and looked at her. I smiled slightly. "Bella, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Isabella Marie Swan, you mean more to me than I ever thought possible. You've touched me with your kindness, opened my heart with your sweetness." I kissed her hands. "I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my girlfriend."

Bella giggled. "Edward, you are such a goof. But such a sweet goof."

I smiled and kissed her nose. "So?"

"Edward Anthony Masen, there is nothing I would like more."

I felt like my face was going to split in half, my smile was so wide. "Come on!" I half dragged her back down the pier.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to take my girlfriend out to dinner. I saw a place while we were walking that looks perfect."

I felt lighthearted and free, even more than I did the day we shared our first kiss. There was something about Bella's presence that made me forget everything and just be the seventeen year old boy that I was. I watched her skip along next to me, our hands swinging between us. Joy radiated off of her and it squeezed my heart to know that I had put that joy there. She was happy because of me. It was a heady sensation and I didn't know if I could get used to it. We arrived at Café Garden and I stopped. "Does this look alright?"

I watched her take in the quaint white building with green trim. "It's perfect," she stated. We walked through the stone archway and I heard her gasp. "It's beautiful." We stood in a garden of flowers. White, pink and red roses grew everywhere. We walked along the brick path until we reached the front door.

"Hello," the hostess greeted us as we walked in. "Table for two?"

"Yes please." I said. I put my hand to the small of Bella's back and followed her to a booth. We slid in and I watched her look out the large window. We had a beautiful view of the garden and beyond that I could see the ocean.

"This is perfect Edward."

I grinned, happy that I was making her happy.

"Welcome to Café Garden, my name is Maria, I'll be your waitress today."

I glanced up at her and smiled. "We will have two cokes, please." I glanced at Bella and she nodded.

"Two cokes, coming right up," Maria said.

When she left I looked over and watched Bella examine the menu. "Anything look good?"

"Everything," she said. "I have no idea what to get. What are you getting?"

I picked up my menu. "Hm, I think one of the pastas look good."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

Maria returned with our drinks. "Here you go, are you guys ready to order?"

I looked at Bella. "Yeah," she said. "Hm, I'll have the Chicken Basil Linguine."

"Okay, and for you?" Maria turned to look at me.

"I'll have the Pomadoro Tortellini," I said. I smiled up at her and handed her my menu. "Thank you Maria."

She nearly dropped the menu I handed her, then grabbed Bella's and walked away.

I looked at Bella and saw her trying to contain her laughter. I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"You are doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Dazzling people," Bella managed through her laughter.

I felt my face go beet red. "Bella," I groaned. "Not this again!"

"Did you see the poor girl? I bet she's in the kitchen hyperventilating as we speak."

I somehow rolled my eyes and tried to find my dignity.

"It's okay Edward," she reached over and patted my hands. "I know you don't do it on purpose.

Our food arrived and it was surprisingly good. I watched as Bella placed a forkful of food in her mouth. She closed her eyes as she chewed, obviously enjoying the pasta. "Good?" I asked.

"Mmhmm," she sighed. "Want to try?" She twirled more pasta on her fork, then held the loaded utensil out for me. I opened my mouth helped her guide the food into my mouth. It was delicious.

I picked up my own fork and tried a bite of my dinner. Again my taste buds were assaulted with flavor.

"Well?" Bella asked.

I looked up at her through my lashes and smiled. I almost laughed when her eyes took on that glassy look. Apparently I had dazzled her again. "Want a bite?"

She nodded. I held my fork up for her and placed the tortellini in her mouth. I watched her chew and she smiled. "Yum," she said.

Our dinner continued that way as we shared our food. The food was amazing, but the company was even better. I almost laughed to myself as the cliché went through my brain. But in this case, it was true. Bella made me smile and laugh more than I had in such a long time. This day had been perfect. I was just a boy, out on a date with his beautiful girl friend. There were no nightmares, not guilt, no fear. No wondering when this was all going to end.

Later, as I drove her home and held her hand, she turned to me. "I had so much fun today," she said. "Did you?"

"You have no idea," I said quietly. "Today was perfect."

"Good." Bella sat back in her seat. "I wanted to give you that, a perfect day. With no fear. You've known enough fear."

I pulled up to her house. "When I'm with you, there is no fear, no reason for it," I said gently.

I got out of the car and opened the door for her. We walked quietly to her door. "Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked.

"I certainly hope so," I answered. "I'll call you in the morning, let you know the plan."

"That would be great. Thank you for today."

I leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Definitely." Then she gripped my shirt for a second. "Sleep well, Edward," she whispered against my lips. "Have sweet dreams, okay?"

I nodded, unable to promise anything. I didn't know what to expect when I closed my eyes tonight. "You too." I deepened our kiss, enjoying the feel her soft lips and her heart beating against my chest.

"Bella? Is that you?"

We jumped as the porch light turned on and the knob shook. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Bella."

"Night Edward."

I kissed her hand one more time, then hurried to my car.

A/N: I hope that was okay. I know there wasn't a whole lot of action, but like I said, I just really wanted to give Edward a day to enjoy. He's been through so much.

So I was thinking...I am very close to 100 reviews and it would be amazing if I broke 100 reviews with this chapter.

Thanks to everyone who has read/favorited/alerted/reviewed this story!!!