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Chapter 16 (EPOV)
I stirred slowly, peeking one eye open only to get an eyeful of brown hair. Bella's warm body was sprawled out beside me, taking up nearly all of my childhood bed. She was laying on her stomach with one arm thrown over my chest and a leg tucked around my calf. Her long hair was splayed out over her pillow and mine, and her pink lips were pressed in a tiny little pout. I shifted a little bit underneath her so that I could get a look at her long, silky legs that peeked out from underneath my old Forks High School track t-shirt.
She moved slightly, her leg sliding further between mine, as she slowly regained consciousness. The two of us had all but passed out from exhaustion when we got to my parent's house the night before. Renee stayed at the hospital with Charlie and demanded that we all leave and get a good night's sleep. My mother had graciously extended the offer to us, Emmett, and Rosalie to stay at their house for the night. I knew that Bella had to be exhausted from the emotional ups and downs of the day, and I practically carried her up to my room, stripping her out of her clothes and throwing the t-shirt over her head. I barely even got a "good night" in before she was out cold.
She lifted her head and blinked tiredly up at me. Her eyelids were heavy and she had tiny lines from the fabric of the pillow on her cheek.
"Good Morning," she muttered quietly, pressing her lips to the curve of my bare shoulder, her voice raspy from lack of use. She dropped her head down onto my chest and sighed contentedly, as I ran my fingertips lightly up and down her spine.
"How are you feeling this morning?" I asked, pulling her closer, if that were even possible.
"Better. Rested," she replied, and I could feel the flutter of her lips on my chest as she spoke. "I could use a shower and breakfast though. My stomach feels like it's going to start eating itself."
With a loud yawn, she threw back the covers and eased out of bed. "Are you going to join me?" she smirked over her shoulder, taking off my t-shirt and throwing it at me before disappearing into my adjoining bathroom.
I heard the water start as I shot up out of bed, almost tripping over the comforter in my haste to get to the bathroom. I stepped out of my boxers and into the shower, closing the glass door behind me.
"You've got a lot of nerve asking me to shower with you while my parents and your brother are in the house," I said with mock indignation, but I was unable to stop the grin from sprouting on my face.
"Don't get too excited, Cullen. I just wanted you to wash my hair," she laughed, handing me the bottle of shampoo and turning to face the wall so that I could reach her strands.
"Killjoy," I muttered under my breath. I must have said it louder than I had intended, because her elbow came flying back and jabbed me in the ribs.
"Ow!" I yelled, dropping the bottle on the floor and wrapping my arms around her wet body, drawing her back into me. I dug my fingers into her sides and started tickling as she squealed and squirmed in my arms. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep a grasp on her slippery body so I set her down on her feet, still mercilessly going for the spots on her body I knew were extremely ticklish.
"Stop! Stop!" she squealed, somehow maneuvering herself out of my grasp. She turned around to face me and backed up into the wall, glaring playfully at me with her arms out in front of her.
My mind partially registered that we were probably being loud, but the noise was most likely muffled by the fact that my bedroom was on the third floor. Plus, I was a grown man, and I had my naked girlfriend in the shower. I really didn't care how much noise we made.
I stalked towards her, grasping her wrists in my hands and holding them up over her head, against the shower wall. Her laughs stopped suddenly, as she finally registered the serious, longing look in my eyes.
"Edward?" she squeaked, her eyes huge. "I don't think this is such a good idea," she said, but completely contradicted her words by moaning softly when my body came in contact with hers.
"Let's play a game," I said, keeping her wrists pinned to the wall with one hand as my other slid its way down her torso.
She gulped. "What kind of game?"
"It's the 'How Quiet Can Bella Be?' game," I replied, dipping my head down to suck lightly on her collarbone.
"But what about your parents?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. I slipped my hand between her thighs and her entire body shuddered. "Oh God...and my brother?"
"Shhhh...you aren't doing very well at this game, Bella," I said as I pressed the tip of my index finger to the tiny bundle of nerves between her legs. She squeaked quietly and banged her head on the tiled wall behind her.
I grinned and released both of my hands, latching them onto the backs of her thighs, and hoisting her up. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I stepped forward, bringing her back flush to the wall. From that angle, she was about eye-level with me. I followed a drop of water as it dripped from her hair, down her forehead, over her thick eyelashes, and off of her chin. I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to hers, keeping our eyes locked together as I slowly sunk into her. We held still for a few moments, both of our bodies trembling slightly. I knew we were trying to be restrained and quiet, but I wanted nothing more than to completely lose my inhibitions and be completely consumed by her.
She whimpered softly and pressed her hips forward into mine, urging me to continue. Finally, I gave into her, beginning a slow, deep rhythm as her legs clamped around me and her heels dug into the back of my thighs. She buried her face into my neck as I pressed her shoulders back into the wall, picking up the pace of my thrusts. The only sounds to be heard were our heavy pants, the falling water, and the sharp slapping of our wet hips against each other.
"I love you," I panted. "So much."
She groaned, her mouth latching onto the curve of my neck. She nipped and sucked all the way up to my earlobe, which she drew between her teeth. Placing her mouth over my ear she half-whispered, half-moaned into it.
"I love you, too. Faster, please. I'm almost there."
Her arms were wrapped around my shoulders, her tiny fingernails clawing at my back almost painfully. Her legs started to tremble as she threw her head back against the wall, gasps and groans and my name falling from her lips incoherently.
I felt her limbs get weak, loosening their grip on my waist slightly. I tightened my arm around her waist as my other hand slapped the wall above her head, my body racing towards its own completion. It wasn't long before I felt it begin deep in my belly, slowly drifting outward, before my muscles tensed and I released deep inside of her, a rough growl escaping my lips as I bit down lightly on her shoulder.
We fell against the shower wall, sated and breathing heavily. I could feel her heart pounding in her chest, matching the speeding pace of mine as I placed soft, random kisses over her head, cheeks, and neck. Our lips met and caressed each other as we recovered, our heartbeats slowing and our limbs regaining their normal strength.
It was then that I noticed that the water had run completely cold. "I hope nobody else wanted a hot shower this morning," I laughed, leaning over to turn the water off. Bella giggled as she opened the shower door and reached for a towel.
We both dried off and got dressed for the day, then checked in with Alice and Jasper at home. Jasper assured me that everything was under control at the restaurant, and that him and Alice had not defiled my entire apartment.
We walked downstairs, hand in hand, sharing laughs at my sister's expense. The smell of pancakes and bacon assaulted us as we entered the kitchen and saw my father sitting at the table reading the paper. My mom was by the stove, plating food, while Rosalie stood beside her, cutting up fresh fruit.
"They're awake!" my mom chirped, flitting over to kiss us both on the forehead. "Have a seat and eat some breakfast before you head on over to the hospital," she demanded, pulling out a few chairs for us. I sat across from my dad, picking up the sports page to look over, as Rosalie chatted with Bella about plans for the day.
Plates of steaming hot food were set in front of us by my mother, as a loud voice interrupted our quiet morning.
"Who in the heck used all of the hot water!" Emmett boomed, walking into the kitchen in his jeans and t-shirt, his curly hair still damp from the shower.
I lowered the paper a bit, catching Bella's eye over it as I smirked and she giggled softly.
"There are six people in this house this morning, Em, that's why. Plus you take half hour showers," Rose snarked, setting down a huge bowl of fruit in the middle of the table.
Bella continued to giggle, but slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle them when Emmett glared in her direction. He looked between her red face and my smirking one and grumbled, sitting down next to my father.
"Yeah, I bet that's why," he said, taking one last look at his sister. She gave a noncommittal shrug and turned her attention back to Rosalie.
Breakfast was a relatively quiet affair, as the impending visit to the hospital loomed over us. I knew it had to still be hard on Bella and Emmett, even though Charlie was going to be okay. I was trying my best to comfort Bella, yet distract her a little bit so that she didn't constantly think about what could've happened. Me, Bella, Rosalie, and Emmett all piled into my rental, my mom promising us that she'd come by later.
We got to the hospital and Bella and Emmett ran inside, leaving Rosalie and I to trail slowly behind them. Both of us seemed to understand that they needed to go see Charlie first.
We were about to enter the double doors when she grabbed my arm, stopping me from going inside.
"Hey, Edward? I wanted to apologize for Emmett's behavior towards you. After his parents died, the only family he had left was Bella, Renee, and Charlie. He's always protected Bella with his life. He was thrilled when she decided to move out to New York, and before she even arrived, I told him to not be too overprotective of her. He was always so worried about her being out in the city alone."
She stopped, and I nodded in understanding. She took a deep breath and started again, raising her head to meet my eyes.
"Then she found you again, and although she completely denied it, I think she fell for you the minute she laid eyes on you. She talked about you often, and I always thought that she had harbored some sort of feelings for you, but when I saw her face after she saw you again, I knew. Emmett doesn't want to relinquish his iron grasp on her...it's going to take awhile for him to trust you with her."
I smiled softly, and slung an arm over her shoulder as we turned to walk inside. "Thanks, Rose. Just so you know, and you can tell Emmett this...I love Bella, so much, and I plan on keeping her for a really long time. Forever, even. As long as she'll have me, I'll be there."
Rosalie beamed at me, her mega-watt smile almost overtaking her face. She patted me on the arm. "How 'bout we wait until we get home to tell him that, Romeo."
We took a seat in the waiting room, just as Renee came walking down the hallway. "Oh, hey guys! Why don't you go on back. Charlie is awake and Bella and Emmett are trying to keep him from running out of here," she said, hugging both of us.
I laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like Charlie. It's nice to know some things never change."
Her hands were still on my arms, and she smiled softly at me. "Yeah, but sometimes things are just as nice when they do." She patted me on the cheek, and then took off for the cafeteria, leaving me and Rose standing in the waiting room.
Rosalie snorted next to me. "Looks like you won't have a problem getting the in-laws to like you."
I turned to her and grinned. "It helps that they've loved me since I was in diapers and have basically been expecting this our whole lives."
"Did you?" she asked, as we made our way down the hall towards Charlie's room.
"Expect more between myself and Bella? No," I admitted. "When we were younger, I had always hoped for a romantic relationship, but I never expected it."
We pushed open the door to Charlie's room, and I saw him trying to sit up in the metal hospital bed, while Bella and Emmett stood beside him, scowls etched on their faces.
"Chief!" I scolded playfully, walking to the other side of the bed, "don't make me go get Dr. Cullen. I don't think he'd have a problem keeping you in here a little longer for being insubordinate."
He collapsed back on to the bed with a huff. "You're lucky I'm an invalid, kid. And I'm not staying in here a minute longer than necessary. The food here is almost worse than Renee's when she 'tries out' a new concoction."
Emmett guffawed and Bella snickered behind her hand, both of them obviously remembering all of the times Renee had tried to force feed them one of her made-up meals. On more than one occasion throughout our childhood, Bella had called me, begging me to bring her some of Esme's cooking. I'd wrap it up and haul it over to her house on my bike, sneaking it up the stairs before Renee or Charlie could see. Renee, because it would hurt her feelings, and Charlie, because he would steal it.
Bella walked over and I sat down in the hard plastic chair next to Charlie's bedside, pulling her into my lap. The hard plastic was hell on my ass, but her little, warm body sitting so close to me more than made up for it. I wrapped my arms firmly around her waist and pressed my cheek to her back, feeling it rise and fall with each breath she took. I sat like that for I don't know how long, listening to Charlie, Emmett, and Bella reminisce and tell funny stories about their childhoods, once in awhile dragging me into a story or two. They were in the middle of telling Rosalie about the time I fell out of the boat when we went fishing with Charlie, when my mom, dad, and Renee walked in, my mom's arms full of balloons and a giant green plant.
"What is all that, Esme?" Charlie asked, clearly annoyed that so much attention was being lavished upon him.
"Oh, cut it out, Charlie," Renee chided, slapping him gently on his good arm, "Alice all but begged Esme to go buy them, claiming they would 'brighten up' the place."
Charlie's ears grew slightly pink, and the annoyed look quickly left his face. He had always had a bit of a soft-spot for my sister. She had gotten out of a speeding ticket or two by using her weird Alice-voodoo on him, and she has had him wrapped around her tiny, manicured finger ever since. "Oh, well tell her I said thank you," he said gruffly, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck with his good arm.
We spent the rest of the day visiting with our parents, the seven of us cramped in the tiny hospital room, while my father visited every chance he could get. He was working in the ER and it was a fairly slow day, so he was able to come down and see us frequently, checking to make sure Charlie's recovery was going as planned. He advised us that Charlie would probably be out of the hospital within the next 48 hours, barring any unforeseen circumstances, and Charlie's eyes lit up like a kid's at Christmas. Charlie was most likely already mentally packing his bags to get the hell out of the hospital, but my father quickly brought him back down to earth, telling him that he would need to come several times a week for physical therapy. He also advised him that he wouldn't be able to work for at least 6 to 8 weeks.
Bella and I made a break for it as soon as we saw the steam start to come out of his ears, Emmett and Rosalie trailing not far behind us. We headed back to my parent's house, laughing about how grumpy Charlie was going to be when he couldn't go back to work. Renee was going to have her hands full.
When we got back to the house, Rosalie and Bella flitted around the huge kitchen, preparing dinner for the four of us. I volunteered to do it, but they shooed Emmett and I from the kitchen, telling us to go do manly bonding things in the living room.
"Typical," Emmett grumbled. "Rosie is always kicking me out of the kitchen at home. This isn't even her house and she's doing it to me here too!"
"How do you think I feel? This is my house - well, my parents' - and I got kicked out of my own kitchen! Not to mention, I AM the one that cooks for a living."
We laughed as we plopped down into the huge overstuffed couches that were strategically placed in my parents' massive living room. As much as I loved the city, I had missed my childhood home immensely. My tiny apartment in New York could almost fit into the living room alone. My mother had decorated the entire house to be expensive-looking and formal, but it also maintained a very homey, comfortable feeling. My favorite days as a kid were always ones spent in the living room, a fire roaring in the giant stone fireplace, and cold rain falling outside of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. Bella and I would curl up under blankets on the couches and watch movies all day, while my mom brought us endless supplies of cookies and hot chocolate. They were definitely much simpler times, but with Bella back in my life, hopefully for good, my future got a lot brighter. I was never one to rely on having a significant other in order to be happy, but she made my life a lot better. While my days had been primarily spent making sure my career was on track, they had shifted to something bigger the minute she walked back into my life. I could see myself having everything with her...a marriage, kids, and a house in the suburbs. While it was way too soon to even think about proposing to her, I knew that it was something that I wanted eventually.
I was startled out of my thoughts when I heard Emmett yelling my name. "Edward? Yo, Ed!"
My head snapped over to where he was sprawled out across the couch, remote control in hand.
"Where did you go? I hope you weren't thinking about my sister naked. I might have to pummel your skinny ass."
I shook my head. "Uh, no. I wasn't. I definitely wasn't."
But I am now. Shit.
I pulled a throw pillow off the couch and placed it over my lap to hide my now growing erection straining against my jeans. I swallowed and looked back up at Emmett, who was smirking at me.
"So," he said, sitting forward on the couch, leaning his elbows on his knees, "now that we're alone, what are your intentions with my sister?" He grinned at me deviously, curling his hands into fists. I knew he had been waiting to drill me with the cliche question, and I knew I had to tread lightly, or he wouldn't have a problem kicking my ass. And he definitely could. His arms were HUGE.
I leaned forward, mirroring his position across from him. I reached up, scratching the back of my neck while trying to figure out what I could say that would be truthful, but not be too forward. If I told Emmett EVERYTHING I wanted, he would rip me limb from limb. I tried to think of what I would want to hear from Jasper, but that thought was completely irrelevant since he had absolutely no shame and no filter. I also wasn't twice his size, so the intimidation factor wasn't there.
"Well," I started, once I got a pretty good speech compiled in my head, "I love her. I want what's best for her, and I'm going to try my hardest to give her everything and anything she needs or desires. For as long as she'll have me."
He stared me down, not saying a word. I couldn't decipher the look on his face, but I didn't have a chance to figure it out, because Bella and Rosalie entered the room, summoning us for dinner.
The dining room table was full of chicken and pasta salad and other various side dishes and my stomach grumbled loudly as we all sat down to eat. I didn't even realize I was hungry until my eyes took in the huge spread of food on the table. I sat next to Bella and kissed the side of her head, silently thanking her for cooking for us. She was nothing short of amazing for being so gracious when she was most likely still sad and emotional from the past few days events.
Just then, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that there was a text from Jasper.
There's an issue here. I need to talk to you. - J.
I felt my face scrunch up in confusion. What kind of issue was there that he couldn't handle?
"Everything alright?" Bella asked.
"I'm not sure," I replied, standing. "Jasper says there's some kind of 'issue' at work and he needs to talk to me. I'm going to go call him. I'll be right back."
I walked down the hallway to the living room, dialing Jasper's number as I walked. He picked up on the second ring.
"Jasper, what's going on? What problem is there that you can't figure out on your own?"
"Look, under any other circumstances, I wouldn't even have said anything to you, but with this..." he paused, taking a deep breath. "I just didn't know what else to do. I found Lauren snooping around in your office this morning."
I could feel my blood start to boil in my veins. "What! What was she looking for?" I almost yelled, my back falling against the wall.
"I don't know, I don't know," Jasper said in a rush. "I think I found her before she could really get into anything. Your office is locked up for now."
"Where is she now?" I asked. I was suddenly very worried about the welfare of my restaurant. With me gone, Lauren was the only good chef we had. I felt a hand on my arm, and turned to see Bella next to me, her features overtaken with worry. I grabbed her hand in mine and turned my attention back to Jasper.
"I couldn't very well send her home with her being head chef under you, could I?" he answered, sounding a little annoyed.
"No, no Jazz. That's not what I meant. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't causing anymore problems for you." I tried reassuring him. I may have been also trying to reassure myself, but I could feel myself spiraling down into a panic.
Bella's eyebrows shot up to her forehead with my statement. I squeezed her hand, letting her know that everything was okay. Hopefully.
"Alright, I just wanted to let you know what was going on. When do you guys think you'll be back?"
I glanced over at Bella nervously and then ran my hand through my hair. I didn't know how long she was planning on staying, and I didn't want to broach the subject with Jasper before Bella and I talked about it. "Can I get back to you on that? I'll call you tonight and let you know."
"Sure, Edward. I'll talk to you later."
I ended the call and turned to Bella, who was still staring at me inquisitively. I leaned over and pressed my lips to her forehead, silently reassuring her that everything was fine. My mind was still racing, but I needed to process everything and think things through before I talked to her. What on earth could Lauren possibly want from me?
"Let's go finish dinner, and then we'll talk, okay?" I suggested, leading her back down the hallway towards the kitchen.
She sat down apprehensively, eyeing me the entire time. She knew something was wrong, but she was giving me time to process it. She knew I needed it. From the time I was little, I always needed time to think things over before I took action, and Bella knew that's what I was doing.
"Is everything alright?" Rosalie asked from across the table. She was glancing back and forth between us worriedly.
"Uh- yeah. It should be. Jasper just had a little bit of an issue that he needed my opinion on." I kept my answer short, sweet, and to the point. I didn't want to bring up Lauren to them without talking to Bella first. She was my priority.
After dinner, we headed upstairs to my father's study, where I sat down in a large leather armchair, pulling Bella down onto my lap. She curled up into my chest and ran her hand through my hair as she waited for me to talk.
I sighed and gripped her around the waist, rubbing my thumb along the exposed skin where her shirt didn't quite meet her pants. "So, you probably know that was Jasper calling. Apparently, he caught Lauren, our chef, snooping through my office."
Her head snapped in my direction. "What? Why the hell would she be going in your office? What was she looking for?"
"I don't know," I groaned out, "I don't know what she could possibly want from me."
She snorted.
"What?" I asked, unsure as to why she had that reaction.
"Have you looked at yourself, Edward? You're unjustly handsome. She wants YOU. Even I could see that, and I've never even met her."
"But that doesn't really explain why she's poking around in my office while I'm gone," I replied, shaking my head in confusion.
"Sure it does. Haven't you ever crushed on someone, Edward? You want the dirt on them. You want to know what they like, what they don't like...she just has a fucked up way of getting the dirt on you," she explained, before continuing, "That doesn't mean that it's okay. I hope you have every intention of firing her."
I sighed and rested my chin on her shoulder, burying my face in her hair. "Why did this have to happen? It took long enough to find her in the first place. It's going to take a miracle to be able to find someone even half as good as she is in an even shorter amount of time. I'll talk to her. Try to figure out what's going on. If I have to fire her, I'm going to have to cover for her until we find someone new."
She leaned in and kissed me gently on the forehead before taking my face in her hands. "You need to do what's best for your restaurant, Edward. You need to protect it. If that means I have to see you a little less for awhile, then so be it. We'll get through it."
"Yeah," I said, capturing her mouth with my own in a sweet kiss, "we will."
A/N: Hmmm, what could Lauren possibly be up to? Reviews = Love