Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
Chapter Seventeen
Time began to pass at a more regular rate after that night. Before we had left for our dinner, I had called Bella to let her know the progress that had been made that night. I had promised her, after all. She was happy that the tension was gone, but angry that her best friend had treated me that way.
I can't say that the monster has disappeared. He is still there, haunting me. As more time passes, the weight has lifted, but he still lingers, popping up at random times, a shadow reminding me of the darkness within.
I do my best to block him out, I have people that care about me now and I don't want to drag them down.
I also can't say that the nightmares have stopped, although the frequency has slowed. The first time I slept through the night was the night of our family dinner. Esme tucked me in that night. As she pulled up the blankets to my chin and kissed my cheek, the seventeen year old in me had cringed. But the child that had lost both his mother and father had rejoiced.
A few minutes after she had left, Esme had reappeared in my doorway, the phone in her hand and a smile on her face. Bella's sweet voice had come through the line, making me smile. She had called to say goodnight and to let me know she would dream of me, so I should do the same. I fell asleep, her soft voice echoing through my head. When I had opened my eyes, the sun was shining.
Now I had been living with the Cullens for nearly two months. I looked in the mirror and frowned at my reflection. "Are you sure I need so much make up?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Edward, the point of Halloween is to dress up." She swept the brush over my forehead again, spreading the pale powder over my face. She picked up the dark red lipstick and I narrowed my eyes. "Alice…"
"It's the final touch. I promise." The lipstick touched my lips. Ugh. "You will look funny if you don't finish the look. There."
I looked in the mirror and barely recognized myself. Alice had taken my usually messy hair and put gel in it, making it look even messier. Now it stuck out at every angle. My normally pale face was now nearly white and seemed to glow in the bathroom light. My eyes were outlined with black and she had used purple eye shadow to create bruise like smudges under my eyes. I was wearing black jeans, a black long sleeved shirt and my leather jacket.
"Now, the teeth," Alice said holding up the plastic fangs.
I had to put my foot down. "Alice, I'm not going to be able to talk with those in my mouth. Can't I just be a vampire with razor sharp teeth, instead of fangs?"
"But vampires always have fangs," Alice pouted.
"What if I'm a different kind of vampire? I have razor sharp, venom covered teeth. Does that sound okay?"
Alice sighed and looked at me. "I guess that does sound intriguing. But now I have to fix Bella's costume."
I grinned, "Thanks." I followed Alice out of the bathroom. She headed towards her room and I went down the stairs. I found Carlisle and Esme in the kitchen and I felt like I had gone back in time, to the nineteen fifties. Carlisle wore blue jeans with the cuffs rolled up and a tight white shirt. He had his hair slicked back and black converse on his feet. Esme wore a white sundress covered in cherries and what must have been Carlisle's old letterman jacket. On her feet were white Keds. Her hair was pulled back from her face with red barrettes.
"Edward!" Esme smiled and came to give me a hug. I felt much more comfortable with the hugs now. Esme seemed to feel as if she needed to make up for all the missed hugs in my life time. I thought I should feel suffocated by it, but actually, I liked it. "Don't you look fierce!" she said.
I smiled. "You guys look great."
Rosalie and Emmett were the next to appear in the kitchen and I had to fight the snort that threatened to burst from me. Rosalie was wearing a short, pink dress, with puffy sleeves, white knee socks and black, Mary Jane style heels. On her head, she wore a little, sparkly crown in her blonde curls. Emmett wore blue overalls with big yellow buttons, a red short sleeve shirt and red cap. "Super Mario?" I managed to get out without laughing.
Emmett frowned and looked at Rosalie who smirked. "I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween. He said a video game character," Rosalie explained. "I just gave him what he wanted."
"I meant something cool! Like the Matrix or something."
"Oh honey," Rosalie said, giggling. "Then you should have been a bit more specific."
"Isn't that a movie?" I asked.
"Yeah, but it's a video game too." But Emmett smiled and wrapped his arm around his princess. "At least you look gorgeous, babe."
"Not as gorgeous as my girl," Jasper drawled as he walked in. He lifted his arm and Alice twirled underneath, the short black skirt flaring out from her waist. She was so tiny that the feather in her hair barely skimmed Jasper's arm, even though she was wearing black heels. Her top half was barely covered by a pink corset and I shot a look at Carlisle. He hadn't said anything about Rosalie's risqué outfit. But Alice was his daughter. His mouth formed a straight line and I saw his chest rise as he took a deep breath to speak. Esme elbowed him in the chest.
"You look beautiful, dear," she said.
"Thanks, Mom." Alice beamed and looked back at Jasper. He was dressed as a cowboy, straight from the old west. He touched the brim of his black cowboy had and smiled at his girl.
The door bell rang out and I hurried to the front door, anxious to see Bella. I already knew what she would be wearing. We had wanted to keep our costumes as simple as possible. She was simply wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt with large white letters printed on the front. The lettering spelled out the words "His Snack." Her hair was pulled off her face in a pony tail and four puncture wounds could be seen on her neck. Ah, that's what Alice meant about fixing her makeup.
"Hi," she said a bit breathlessly. "You look…amazing?" It came out as a question and I ducked my head.
"I know," I shrugged. "Alice went a bit overboard with the makeup. Don't worry, it all comes off."
"Not what I mean," she said, still sounding breathless. Then suddenly I was shoved against the door and her lips were on mine. She crushed herself against me and covered my mouth hungrily. The kiss sent the pit of my stomach into a wild swirl as I kissed her back, gently devouring her soft lips.
"Wow," I panted when her lips moved from my own. My head spun and I was glad to be leaning against the door.
"Edward," she looked at me, a fire burning in her eyes. "Let me rephrase. You look hot."
"Bella!" Alice came into the foyer. "You are going to mess up his makeup! Sheesh! Come on, we have to fix your bit mark. Vampire boy over there doesn't have fangs. He has venom coated razor sharp teeth."
Bella let her self be pulled away by Alice, but her eyes never left mine. Be right back, she mouthed to me. I grinned and nodded.
When she returned, her four fang marks had been replaced by a very realistic looking, bloody bite mark. We all piled into the cars. Alice, Jasper, Bella and I went in my Volvo and Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett in the Mercedes.
I pulled my car into the Thriftway parking lot and we unloaded. I stared at the huge field next to the store. Or, at least what used to be a huge field. For tonight, it was home to the Forks annual Halloween Festival. I took Bella's hand and we walked towards the front gate. I tried to keep my excitement in check, but it was hard. I could barely remember my last Halloween. I think I dressed up as Superman and had flown through the air atop my dad's shoulders.
I recognized a lot of my classmates from Forks High as we passed through the gates of the festival. Upon entering my sense were bombarded. The scent of caramel, popcorn, apples and pumpkin wafted through the air. I could hear the sounds of screaming coming from the haunted house and eerie music drifted through field. I lead Bella over to the ticket booth and purchased two unlimited passes. The passes would give us access to the maze, haunted house and hayride. "Here you go," I said to Bella as we moved aside so Rosalie and Emmett could get their passes.
"Thanks," Bella said, beaming up at me. She seemed to be as excited as I felt. I leaned down and kissed her beautiful smile. I loved kissing her. I loved holding her hand. I loved being with her.
"Where do you want to go first," I asked.
"The haunted house!" Emmett boomed from behind me.
I looked at Bella. "Okay," she said, a bit hesitantly.
"Don't worry," I said as I put my arm around her shoulders. "I'll protect you."
I saw Carlisle and Esme waving goodbye to us as they headed for a different part of the field. I smiled and waved back. Then, the six of us made our way to the haunted house. We found the line and waited for our turn. I looked down at Bella, and kissed her gently on the cheek. She looked up at me, still looking nervous. "We don't have to, if you don't want to," I said.
"No no, I love this stuff, but I do find it scary," Bella said with a smile. "I know, I am masochistic or something."
She jumped as something slammed into the wall next to us. Emmett laughed. "Bella, I think we should make you go in first."
Her hand tightened on my elbow. "I'm staying with Edward."
"Fine, then you and Edward should go first."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Rosalie has been awfully quiet since we got in line."
She tossed her long curls over her shoulder. "I'm not scared at all," she said confidently.
We made it to the entrance. We listened to the wart covered witch tell us the rules of the house and then the door opened with a creak. "Enter, if you dare," the witch croaked.
Emmett laughed and Bella tightened her clinging grip on my arm. I stepped into the dark house, nearly dragging Bella with me. I put my hand on top of hers and rubbed her knuckles soothingly. "It's okay," I breathed. Just then, a flash of light went off and a "dead" body dropped from the ceiling. Bella screamed and jerked backward. My own heart beat a little faster.
"Come on," I whispered and began taking small steps farther into the house. More flashes of light went off and each time, revealing a new horror. Bella screamed and then giggled as we made our way through. Her arm numbing grip never loosened, but I didn't mind. It felt good to be her protector, even if it was fake. Just as I started to relax, a hideous looking monster jumped out of a black pot. Bella let out a piercing shriek and fell backwards. My arm went with her and we both crashed into the wall. Bella screamed even louder as the wall gave way and for a second it felt like we were getting sucked into the wall.
Then, I realized it was just the door and we had hit it just right, causing into open. I laughed, even though my heart had yet to calm down. "It's okay," I whispered to her. Her grip tightened, how I'm not sure and we continued. Somewhere in the distance, we could hear the purr of a chain saw.
"Uh oh," Bella whispered near my ear.
"Don't worry, baby, he won't touch you."
We were now walking through complete darkness and things was hanging from the ceiling. I reached up to move one of them out of the way. I jumped, which caused Bella to scream, when I touched it and felt the hairy, object. "Sorry," I laughed as I moved it out of the way.
And we continued, the sound of the chain saw growing louder. As we got closer, I could feel Bella trying to get closer, almost as if she wanted to climb inside me. I smiled and rubbed her knuckles again.
Then, right next to our head, the chainsaw went off. Bella let out a blood curdling scream and raced for the exit, dragging me with her. Another man, with yet another chainsaw appeared in her path and she slammed to a stop. I nearly tripped over her but I caught myself before I did. I laughed softly as I maneuvered us around the man. He leapt towards us a few times, causing Bella to panic each time. We finally got around him and headed for the last door.
The cool night air hit us as we exited. We walked out and stood, waiting for the others. Bella let go and I felt blood race to reach my hand again. She leaned over and put her hands on her knees, panting to get her breathe back. I put my hand on her back. "You okay, sweetheart?"
She nodded and looked up at me, her brown eyes sparkling. "That was fun!" She laughed.
That was not the reaction I was expecting. She had seemed scared to death inside. "Really?"
"Yeah," she nodded then her arms around my neck. "Thank you for being such a good protective boyfriend."
Just then, Emmett and Rosalie came through the exit, both were laughing. I smiled, glad that they were having a good time. Jasper and Alice exited next. "Oh Bella!" Alice rushed to her. "We could hear you screaming the whole time."
"Edward your face!" Emmett managed to get out between laughter. Jasper and Rosalie laughed harder. "When you guys almost went through the door, that was priceless!"
"You saw that?"
"Yeah," Rosalie said, trying to catch her breath. "We stood back, wanting to give all the 'monsters' a chance to scare you guys. We saw that one jump out of the pot. You guys both, the look on your faces!" The group lost it again.
I glanced at Bella, who looked up at me. "I'm glad it's so amusing," she said, dryly. But I could see the laughter lurking in her eyes. "Let's go on the hayride next."
We headed in that direction, the others still laughing out at random times.
"Oh!" Jasper cried out. "And then when the chain saw went off. Edward, I thought you were going to scream!" More laughter.
"Was not," I said smiling. I turned to Bella. "We need to get them back," I whispered. She nodded emphatically. I leaned down and kissed her jaw, my lips creating a path to her ear. "The maze?" I felt her nod and I kissed her jaw again.
We showed our passes and then climbed into the hay lined trailer. We took our seats on the outer edge of the hay and then the ride started. It was peaceful, trucking along through the field, my beautiful girl friend in my arms. I leaned down and kissed her again.
Just then, a chainsaw roared and appeared over Emmett's head. He screamed and nearly tumbled backwards over the edge of the truck as he tried frantically to get away. I burst out laughing and saw Bella do the same. "Karma," Bella said between giggles.
"I guess this isn't a relaxing hay ride," Emmett grumbled as he sat back in his seat. He looked out over the field, obviously trying to see if more chainsaw were out to get him. I could make out the outline of a figure running, a chainsaw over his head. I glanced at Emmett and knew he had spotted the man as well. This time, when the chainsaw went off, we were expecting it and we laughed. Although, I will admit I did jump, just a little bit.
After the hayride, Bella and I wandered off by ourselves. "Are you hungry?" I asked her, looking at the many food booths.
"I could eat," she said, steering me over to the popcorn booth. After paying for the popcorn, we went to a hay bale and sat down. I sat against another bale and pulled Bella so she was sitting between my legs. She leaned her head up and looked up to the sky. "It's surprising clear tonight," she said, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
I looked up and saw the stars twinkling amidst the wispy clouds. "It is," I agreed. I looked back at her and gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Then my fingers drifted down her arm, until I got to her fingers. I felt her shiver against me. "Are you cold?" I asked softly.
"No," she whispered. I played with her fingers while we ate popcorn in silence. She continued to look up towards the sky as I watched her face. "It's beautiful," she finally said.
"It is," I agreed again, not looking at the sky. Instead I watched her face and the way the moonlight reflected off her pale skin. She was beautiful in so many ways. I still couldn't believe I held this miracle in my hands. She had been there so often, holding me when the memories became too much, crying with me when I told her my latest nightmare. She willingly fought the monster inside. She didn't allow me to get down on myself. The last two months had been the happiest of my life and it was in large part, thanks to this girl in my arms. I couldn't deny my feelings for her any longer. I let go of her fingers and ran my own finger along her jaw. She turned her head to look at me and I felt myself drowning in the chocolate depths of her eyes.
"What?" she asked, her eyes searching mine. She turned her body, so she was facing me now.
"Bella." It had been so long since I had uttered those three words that they caught in my throat. "Bella," I whispered again. I took her face gently in my hands. I brushed a kiss to her forehead, and then captured her lips with my own. At the touch of her lips that familiar, delicious sensation sent tingles down to my toes. This kiss took on a new intensity and left my mouth burning and wanting more. I pulled myself back; my lips still a breath away from hers. "I love you," I breathed against her mouth. I captured her mouth again. "I love you," I whispered, my voice cracking over the words. "So much.
Her hands fisted in my hair and tears glittered in her eyes. "I never imagined I could love someone as much as I love you." Her hands let go of my hair and slowly, her delicate fingers drifted down my face, gently tracing my eyes, my cheekbones, my lips. Then they continued slowly down, running along the muscles in my neck and finally coming to a stop when they were on my chest, covering my heart. "Edward," she said in an achingly soft voice. "Your heart is the most precious gift anyone has given to me."
I crushed her against my chest, overwhelmed by this new emotion. My lips pressed against her silky chestnut hair. "You are my life now," I murmured.
How long we sat on that hay bale, holding each other I do not know. I only know that I felt complete, as if I had found my other half that I had been missing for too long.
My fingers went to her hair and I gently twirled the silky strands around my fingers. "I'm sorry it--," her hand came up over my mouth, blocking the words. Her head stayed on my chest.
"What have I told you about apologizing?"
I smiled and kissed her palm that was still against my mouth. Her hand moved. "I'm not allowed."
"Ever." Bella smiled and snuggled deeper into my chest. "You've apologized enough for your lifetime. So unless you are going to say that you are sorry you said you loved me, you have nothing to apologize for."
I kissed her head again. "No, that's not what I was going to say. Not at all."
"I know."
"I-was-just-going-to-say-that-it-took-me-a-long-time-and-I'm-sorry." I said the words at super speed and got them out before she could stop me. I still remembered the day at my piano when she had almost said she loved me and I had stopped her. That felt like so long ago.
Bella just sighed. "You are silly, Edward." She turned her face into my chest and I felt her warm lips through my t-shirt. "Where do you suppose the rest of the gang is?"
I looked up through the crowds of costumed people. I had truly forgotten the rest of the world existed. The sounds of the festival came back to me. I felt someone watching me and I turned my head. I frowned when I recognized no one. I continued my search for the rest of our friends. "Carlisle and Esme are sharing some cotton candy," I said smiling.
Bella followed my gaze and saw the older couple sitting on a hay bale feeding each other the sugary treat. "I hope I'm like that when I'm older," she commented. "They love each other, after all the years they've been together."
"There you guys are!"
I heard Alice's bubbly voice and turned toward it. She and Jasper were holding hands as they made their way through the crowd. "Emmett and Rosalie are waiting at the maze. We want to go all together."
Bella and I exchanged a smile. We stood up and followed them to the entrance of the cornfield maze.
"So, first couple out wins?" Emmett challenged. Of course.
We all nodded. "Okay," Rosalie said. "On your mark, get set, go!"
Bella and I entered the maze and we immediately turned right. The other couples kept going straight. I could feel Bella giggling against me. Just then a monster jumped out at us and Bella screamed and jumped. Then she laughed.
"Hey!" I waved down the hideous looking monster. "We have two friends in the maze that decided to laugh hysterically at us in the haunted house. Can you gather some of your monster friends and get them back for us?"
The puss covered face nodded.
"One is dressed as Mario, running around with his princess. Huge guy, you can't miss him," Bella said.
"The other is blond, dressed as a cowboy wearing a black cowboy hat," I continued.
"He's with a saloon girl. Black skirt, pink corset top," Bella ended.
The monster nodded, and then winked at us as he took off. I looked at Bella and held my hand up. She slapped me five. "Come on, we need to finish first," she said, her competitive side taking over.
"Yeah we do, babe." I took her hand and we continued to hurry through the maze. I caught her a few times as her foot caught on the dry cornstalks that littered the floor. She laughed and each time pressed a kiss to my mouth. A couple of times I felt like someone was watching us, but every time I looked over my shoulder, the space behind me was empty.
"You okay?" she asked as I looked over my shoulder yet again.
"Yeah," I moved my shoulders and tugged on her hand. "Just have this weird feeling someone is watching us."
"Honey, we are in a maze. There are monsters and things out to get us around every corner. Of course you feel like someone is watching us."
I smiled. "You are right. I'm just not used to this. Keep expecting it all to disappear."
At those words, all laughter left her eyes and she hugged my fiercely. "I love you, Edward Masen. That is never going to disappear."
"I know, I'm just being silly again." I kissed her quickly. "I love you too."
She smiled brilliantly and then we continued to make our way through the maze. "Do you think they others are out?"
"I don't know. I feel like we've been in here forever."
She nodded and we went around another turn. We hit a dead end. We both groaned on cue. Bella turned and wrapped her arms around herself. "Are you cold," I asked her.
"A little," she admitted. I whipped my jacket off and spread it over her shoulders. "But now you'll be cold," she protested.
"Nah, I have long sleeves, you have short. I'm fine."
She shoved her arms through the sleeves of the jacket and the cuffs dangled several inches below her hands. I laughed and helped her roll them up, freeing her hands. We held hands as we continued through the corn field. We turned again and this time, we looked at each other. Bella's smile grew and we ran out the exit.
Immediately, we turned our heads, looking for any sign of the others. "Yes!" Bella cried when she realized that we were the first out. I grabbed her and swung her in a circle.
Suddenly we became aware of screaming coming from the maze. We both turned to see a large man in blue overalls racing out the exit, the look of terror on his face matching the girl like screams coming from his mouth. Directly behind him was a cowboy, same look of terror, same girly screams. And behind them were five monsters, all with chainsaws and a look of death in their eyes. One of them caught my eye and winked. Bella and I burst out laughing. Alice and Rosalie emerged from the maze next, tears running down their cheeks as they laughed. "Oh my God," Rosalie cried. "That was priceless. Oh Em, the look on your face."
"That," Emmett pointed towards the maze. "Was so far from funny. Those damn mummies or monsters or whatever the hell you want to call them were possessed! I swear they wanted to kill us!"
"Yeah!" Jasper piped up. "They wouldn't leave us alone! And then they started chasing us, even after we said go away. And more and more kept coming."
Alice wiped at the tears in her eyes. "And then you guys panicked and started running, but couldn't find the way out! Oh Edward, Bella, you guys should have seen it. Especially after the crap they gave you for the haunted house."
"We did see them run out," Bella said. "And that was hilarious itself."
Emmett huffed. "Come on Jasper. I think we deserve some caramel apples after that."
"Oh yum!" Alice bounced over to Jasper and took his hand. "Me too!"
When the others had their backs to us, walking towards the caramel apples, I held my hand out to Bella. She gently slapped it and then kissed me. "Nice job, partner," she said against my lips.
"Right back at you."
After our caramel apples we went to find Carlisle and Esme to see if they were ready to take off. It was nearing one in the morning and the festival was winding down. Once we found them, we headed to our cars. This time I took Bella, Rosalie and Jasper and would drop them off on my way back to the Cullens. I dropped the Hale twins off first, waving goodbye as they hurried up to their front door.
When Bella and I were alone in the car, she took my hand into her lap and began tracing the lines, much like she had that day in biology. "Bella," I whispered.
"Yeah?" she said, her voice a bit smug.
"You have no idea how good that feels."
She smiled knowingly and lowered her face until she was running her mouth along my palm. When her tongue touched my hand, I nearly swerved off the road. "Bella," I groaned. "Baby, I'm driving."
She laughed softly and went back to using her finger. I pulled up to the front of her house and watched her finger running over my palm. Tingly shots of desire coursed through my body. She picked my hand up and touched her mouth to my hand again. The tingles increased to sparks and I shifted in my seat. Her mouth caressed my hand and my wrist. "Bella," I choked.
Bella smiled and pushed my sleeve up my arm. She kissed the exposed skin, taking her time around the sensitive skin of my inner elbow. I hissed and shifted again. She continued to gently kiss me until she reached the edge of my sleeve. Then she skipped over the fabric and took up the caressing kisses on my neck. I was hot and trembling by the time she made it to my lips. "Edward, I love you so much," she whispered.
"Aw Bella, you have no idea how long I've waited for you. I love you too." She finally kissed my lips then, the heat of her mouth seeming to burn mine. I couldn't kiss her deep enough. I pulled her closer, dragging her across the seat until she sat on my lap. My hands moved on their own accord, moving to areas I had never explored. I heard her moan as my hands went under my jacket and touched her sensitive area. She leaned back, trying to give me more access.
We both jumped six feet in the air when her elbow hit the horn and the sound blasted through the silent light.
My poor heart felt like it was going to escape my chest as it pounded with both desire and the sudden jolt from the horn. We saw a light go on in her house and we both groaned.
Charlie was awake.
Bella scooted back over to her side and opened the door. I jumped out and walked her to the door.
"Good night, my sweet angel," she said softly.
"Good night, my love," I whispered back. I kissed her one more time and then let her open the door. She stepped inside, turned and leaned against the edge of the door. She kissed her fingers tips and then pressed them gently to my lips.
"Only the sweetest of dreams for you tonight." She smiled. Then slowly, she closed the door.
There was a bounce in my step as I made my way back to the car. Joy bubbled through me and for tonight, there were no shadows across my heart. I got back in the car and turned the radio on. Music poured into the car and moved my head with the beat as I drove down the street. I felt blissfully happy, fully alive.
I ran up the steps to the Cullen's with the same spring in my step. I met Esme in the hall and reached out to give her a hug. "Hi!" I sang happily. Then I did something I had never done. I kissed her cheek.
Esme gasped, and held me tighter. "Hi honey. Did you have a good night?"
"Great night. Best Halloween ever." I stepped away from her and smiled. I saw the tears of happiness in her eyes and hugged her again. "Thank you," I whispered next to her ear.
Then I turned and went up the stairs, humming softly to myself.
A/N I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was fun to write. It was totally based on my own experiences at Halloween. I am just like Bella when it comes to haunted houses. A couple of you asked if this is the end of the story and I will tell you now that there are at least five (I think) more chapters coming. I know that it seems like Bella and Edward have found the happily ever after, but things aren't always what they seem.
Don't forget to review, I truly love to hear what you guys think and it is SUPER helpful! Plus, my birthday is Monday, so reviews would be the best present ever LOL.