Chapter 7

Epov

Since Christmas, everything went better and better with Bella.
Giving Bella her own room was a great move of Esme. Within a few days, she transformed the room into her own sanctuary.

She started to collect books and my book had a place of honor, lying on her nightstand at the moment. On every shopping spread she joined Alice and Rosalie. But instead of going through thousands of clothing shops, Bella went straight to the more abandon bookstores. Much to the disappointment of my little sister. My girl had the same attraction to books like Alice with clothes. She bought all the classics that she could find. Wuthering Heights, Romeo and Juliet, the Hunchback of the Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera…

But what surprised me the most was that I also found a lot of vampire stories in her cabinet. Dracula, Salem's Lot, books of Anne Rice. It seemed to be a bit comical to see Bella read all those stories about our kind. At least what the humans thought as 'our kind'. Most of those stories were false. Stories about pale creatures with long fangs and bright blue eyes that slept in coffins hidden in dark, molding dungeons and that would burn in the sun. It really made me laugh sometimes.

On her walls, she hanged different drawings that she made. Pictures of flowers, animals but also of us. At the moment there were only pictures of Esme, Alice and Rosalie. She was still working on the pictures of the men.

The bathroom was also very well used. Every day Bella took a one hour long shower. And sometimes you could hear her sing, mumbling her favorite songs. It was in those times that she felt the most relaxed and where I was content that she was with us.
Having her own place made her so happy. Mostly because she felt guilty for having to stay in Alice's room all the time.
Alice always claimed that it was never a problem. But I saw that Jasper was pleased to have his room back.

Bella was so changed since we found her.
Back then, she was a shy, frighten little girl. A sort of closed flower in the middle of the desert. But now, she was slowly opening her leafs.
And with every day that passed, my love for her grew even more.

She was cute, helping Esme with cleaning the house, reading books where she found one, sketching in the garden, going shopping with Alice and Rosalie, playing dress up with them. She was so lovely, fragile, charming, dedicated to her work. When she sketched, she didn't hear a thing around her. I could spy on her for hours without Bella noticing.

Carlisle had tried to have a conversation with her again. Now that she trusted us and wasn't so afraid anymore, he gave it another shot. It worked in the beginning. Bella answered every question he asked. She told us that she was turned 25 years ago when she was 18 years old and that she came from a town named Phoenix where she lived with her parents.
But when the questions became more specific, she froze. She wouldn't speak about her maker, her life as a young vampire. She told him it was too painful. So something did happen. I was so eager to get to know the truth. To learn why Bella was so frighten. But she wouldn't let anything slip. What had happened to her?
….

I was playing on my piano, letting my emotions inspire me for a new song.
It had been a long time since I last wrote a song. Back then I didn't have a reason or inspiration for composing.
I had my eyes closed. When I was composing, I tried to block everything out.
So I made an effort to block the voices out of my head and let other senses (sight, hearing…) not bothering me.

I let my fingers slide over the keys, searching for a sound that would be appropriate for my Bella. It had to be something delicate, nothing harsh or dark. I finally found a melody that told my feelings for this angel. The inspiration was building and I let it all out. Translating my love and affection through music.
After some time, I had wrote a little song.
I liked it very much. The harmony between the tones was perfect. It started very quietly, and slowly the music would build up. But it kept the same sweet melody. It suited Bella, her character, her beauty, her will to please everybody. I placed my fingers on the keys and played the whole song over again. It was light, a bit dreaming. You could describe it as a sort of lullaby.

"It is charming, real lovely. It fits her perfectly. " I heard my mother say.
I laughed. Sometimes, I thought that she could see right through me. A mother's intuition, she calls it.

I was halfway my song when I heard somebody take a deep breath, not far from me. I looked up, stopping my fingers from playing.
There stood my Bella, watching me from the threshold. She had her arms around her body and her eyes were staring deep into mine. How long had she been standing there?

"No, please don't stop. It's beautiful." she said softly.

"You like it?"

To be honest, I was a little surprised that she liked my music. In general she listened mostly to rock music. So I believed that classical music wasn't her thing.
Bella came towards me slowly, stopping right beside the piano. Her striking golden brown eyes looked me straight in the eyes.

"Yes, I never heard something so divine. It truly touched me."

A more beautiful compliment she couldn't give me. I couldn't suppress a smile. She took another deep breath.
"Thank you, Bella. I loved it that you like the song. Do you like piano music?"

"Yes, I find it very soothing. With the piano, you can tell a story, you can let your emotions go free. I find it a great instrument."
Yet another surprise for me.

"Can you play?"

"No,…unfortunate not. I never got the chance to learn how to play."
She really looked disappointed.

There and then I made a decision. It was time to make a move. Otherwise this would go on and on. And I was sick and tired of playing dumb. I had to take a chance. I moved a bit on my bench and pattered the place besides me. Bella looked strange at me.

"Come, I will teach you how to play." Her eyes grew wide.

"No, it's …not necessary. You don't have to do this for me."

"Yes I do. I can see that you would love to play. The disappointment is written all over your face. And actually, I would love to teach you."
She still didn't move.

"Please Bella. Trust me."
She kept staring, battling the fight deep inside herself. But then, a little sparkle was seen in those orbs, a sort of determination.
She sighed and carefully took place besides me. She never stood so close to me.

"Right, first I'm going to teach you a little song, just to make it a bit fun. Then we can start with the theory. Is that good for you?"

"Not a problem, you're the teacher."

I chuckled. I placed my fingers on the keys and started to play a little song. It wasn't the traditional song that every child learns for the first time. But it was the same qua difficulty. The whole time, Bella listened very carefully, watching my hands precisely.

"Now, it's your turn. Place your fingers here."

I showed her the places and let her take the position.
"No, your index finger has to stand here."

And without thinking I placed my hand on her, repositioning her finger.
I didn't know what came over me. One moment I'm being extremely careful not to touch her or scare her and the next thing, I was almost holding hands with her. I didn't dare to move; I just stared at my hands covering hers. They felt so soft against my skin.

The whole time Bella didn't say a thing. She only gasped when my fingers touched her, being shocked that I actually touched her. But other than that, she didn't move a muscle. It surprised me to no end that she stayed so calm. Last time I touched her, she yelled all the air out of her longs.

Slowly I turned my head toward her, wanting to see her face. She was watching me too, looking very intensely into my eyes. To my completely surprise, there was no fear in her eyes, no disgust, no panic. It looked like she was searching for something, an answer hidden in my eyes. But I didn't have a clue for what she was looking for.

We sat there, just watching each other. My hand still covering hers. I didn't feel like taking them away from hers and she didn't pulled away either. It just felt perfect. Suddenly Bella smiled at me, a full smile.
"I trust you, Edward."

I smiled back at her, almost not able to contain all the joy and happiness that I felt inside of me.
She finally had made her choice. I could see it in her eyes. She was willing to try. Bella was willing to let me in and open up to me.
I really wanted to take her in my arms, keeping her there and never let go. But I didn't want to push my luck.
So I just squeezed her precious little hand and continued with our lesson.

Please review.
Next chapter will be in Bella's point of view. XXX