We walked across the courtyard. I reached over and drew her to my side and she leaned into my embrace. I still could not believe that she was here, next to me, her soft warm body pressed against mine. I felt lightheaded, dizzy from her presence. She still loved me; even after everything, she loved me and wanted to be with me. Being with her was the greatest happiness I had ever known and I knew now that I could never be parted from her again. I was not strong enough to be without her anymore. The pain that I felt when we were apart told me that. I knew I never, ever wanted to feel that kind of anguish again. I knew that being in my life was still dangerous for her but I could not bear being away from her. Protecting her and loving her were my two main goals now. I had no idea what the future would hold for us but I did know that there was no force on earth strong enough to take me from her side again.
We walked a few blocks to her hotel, neither of us speaking. It was a rather sad building, slightly rundown. Bella should be staying somewhere nicer than this place, I thought. We walked past the front desk and up the stairs since there was no elevator.
I could hear the curiosity in the desk clerk's mind, wondering who I was. He was disappointed to see me. Apparently he was infatuated with Bella and seeing her with someone else upset him. In his mind he replayed each time he had spoken to her or seen her. She had always responded politely but had given him nothing he could call encouragement. Seeing her with my arm wrapped around her had him seething in envy. I laughed inwardly. She seemed to bring men under her spell with no effort at all and she didn't even know it.
I resisted the urge to lift her up and carry her up the stairs but settled instead to travel the two flights of stairs at a human pace. I was burning with impatience and curiosity. What had really brought Bella here? I had to know.
We walked to the room at the end of the hall and Bella took the key from a pocket of her dress and opened the door. I followed in behind her and surveyed the room. It was not the kind of place I would have chosen for her to stay. It was clean and well kept but not nearly as comfortable and elegant as I would have liked for her. The furnishings were simple-a bed, armchair and footrest, a desk with a chair, a dresser. There was a television on a low table that was so old it looked like it should be in a museum.
Bella took my hand and pulled me to the armchair then pushed me down into it. I would have preferred to sit with her on bed. I wanted to hold her in my arms again. Before I could suggest it though she climbed up and sat on my lap. I was glad that she wanted to maintain contact with me. I wasn't ready to let her go yet either. She put her legs over the arm of the chair and clasped her hands together in her lap. I slid my arm around her back and placed my other hand lightly on her knee. I heard her heartbeat accelerate and she took a deep breath before resting her head on my shoulder.
I sat holding her quietly for a moment but before long my curiosity was raging. "So, are you going to tell me the story now?" I heard the impatience in my voice as I looked down at her expectantly. She was twisting her fingers together.
"I am not sure where to begin," she said, biting her lip.
"Well, maybe start with what made you decide to come find me in the first place." I waited anxiously for the answer. What could have propelled her to come here?
"Well, just please don't freak out, okay?"
Of course I tensed immediately. I knew instinctively that there was more to this story than I had first thought.
"Why would I 'freak out'?" What was so bad that she thought I would panic?
"You have been known to in the past and I don't want it to happen now. There are parts of the story that you may not like and I am worried about your reaction. Just try and listen in an objective way, alright?" She sounded both hopeful and resigned.
I was more anxious than ever to hear her story but I knew she would not tell me if she thought I would overreact. I willed my body to relax.
"Well," she began, "I had thought about coming to find you anyway but I guess the accident is what finally decided it for me."
I went still. She had been in an accident? I guess that was not surprising considering it was Bella, but there must be more to this than a simple accident. She would not have done something as drastic as this if it had been a trifling thing.
"Accident? What happened?" I waited tensely for her reply.
"About two months ago, I was in a car accident." She said it in a matter-of-fact tone but I heard the underlying tension in her voice.
"How bad was it?"
"Pretty bad."
I sucked in a harsh breath. Bella was always so careful to downplay anything unpleasant. I knew if she said bad it really meant terrible or horrific.
"Tell me exactly what happened." I held my breath, waiting for her answer.
"Alright," she took a deep breath, "Well, I was driving Angela's car because my truck was in the shop being repaired." She paused slightly before continuing. "I was going through a green light when a log truck ran the red and hit me on the passenger side. Which was a very good bit of luck they tell me." She sounded almost offhand about it.
If I my heart had been beating it would have stopped. I could imagine the type of damage that a log truck would do to Angela's little Sentra.
"And how badly were you hurt?" I had to know.
"I came out pretty well all things considered." That was all she said but she had to know that that would not satisfy me. That she was hesitating meant that she had been hurt fairly badly. She was going to tell me; I would accept nothing else.
"Bella, tell me exactly what your injuries were."
"The usual compliment of bruises of course," she smiled. "I had some scratches from the glass and some pretty bad gashes on my arms and one on my head. They say I lost a lot of blood." I sucked in a harsh breath and waited for her to finish. I knew there had to be more. "I had four broken ribs and my lung collapsed where the log hit me in the side."
"Log? What log?" I barely had the ability to speak.
"A log came loose from the load when the truck hit me. It came through the passenger side window and hit me." Her voice was calm.
It was even worse than I had imagined. She could have been killed! She could have died while I was thousands of miles away and I would never have known it. The whole time we had been separated I had been able to survive the pain because I knew that no matter what happened to me she was alive and living her life. The thought that I might never have seen her face again filled me with such pain I almost could not bear it.
I pulled her tightly to me and buried my face in her neck. "Oh my God", I heard myself whisper over and over. Feeling her in my arms, smelling her scent and feeling it burn my throat was reassuring, telling me that she was alive and safe. I felt her fingers in my hair and she was saying 'its okay, I'm okay" over and over. So like Bella to try to make me feel better when she was the one who had been hurt. I raised my head and looked into her eyes. She placed her hands on both sides of my face.
"No freaking out, remember? I'm perfectly fine now, okay?" I nodded my head then I looked down and froze. There were two long pink scars on her arms. It horrified me to think of how much they must have hurt and how many stitches it must have taken to close them. I pulled her hands from my face and held her arms out so I could see them properly. I knew it would take a long time for these scars to fade away.
I took both her hands in one of mine and stroked my finger gently down each scar. I was aching with the knowledge that either one of these might have been the one that ended her life. Remorse filled me as I realized that if I had never left, if I had been with her that day, I could have prevented this from happening. I would have been driving her to school and could have evaded the truck or at least shielded her with my body. Anything to keep her safe and uninjured. I would never ever forgive myself for leaving her. For abandoning her to a world that seem determined to do her in.
"Hey, I'm okay, still here and whole." Her voice was soothing. Yes, she was here and with me. I would hold on to that.
I looked into her eyes and smiled sadly. "I can't stand the thought of you being in pain."
"Well, I was unconscious for most of it. I didn't really know the true extent of my injuries until I came out of the coma." She cringed as she said the word.
I sucked in a sharp breath. This kept getting worse and worse.
"Coma? You were in a coma?" I could barely speak the words through the horror I felt. "For how long?"
"Only three days. Not long at all." How could she sound so blasé about something so serious? I suddenly couldn't wait to talk to Carlisle again, to ask him about this. While I was going over everything I had ever read about comatose patients in my head, Bella continued.
"I'm pretty sure it was Alice's voice that brought me out of it." I'm sure that she meant her words to be reassuring but I was too angry at Alice to be comforted. She had promised me! Even though breaking her promise seemed to have brought Bella to me I could not forgive her, yet.
"Alice was there?" I wanted to know the full extent of her interference. Was Bella only here because of her?
"Yes, she came when she "saw" me have the accident. She was worried because she could not see what the outcome was, what my condition was." I knew Alice loved Bella almost as much as I did; she would have wanted to make sure Bella was alright. Why hadn't she told me about the accident? Called me at least? A thought occurred to me.
"You said your accident was two months ago?"
"Yes, give or take a few days."
Alice had called me about two months ago. She had asked if I was still in Rio, though of course she would have known that. I replayed the conversation in my mind but she hadn't said anything about Bella. Maybe the accident hadn't happened yet. But why hadn't she called me after? Had she been afraid of giving something away, of letting me know somehow that Bella was going to track me down? I don't know what I would have done if she had told me that. Left Rio? Wait for her to arrive? I had no idea.
"So I take it that Alice convinced you to come here?" Of course she had. Alice could be very persuasive. She must have talked Bella into tracking me down, knowing that seeing her would be the only thing that would bring me home. The joy that I felt at seeing Bella again was tarnished by the thought that she had only come here at someone else's urging. But as I sat contemplating this, Bella surprised me with her answer.
"No, I told you that I had already decided to find you." Her voice rang with her sincerity. "All Alice did was point me in the right direction. I didn't know where you were or how to find you and she did."
So it really had been her decision after all. She really did want to be with me, despite everything that had happened. I still couldn't believe it.
"So if it wasn't Alice, what really propelled you to find me? You said it was the accident"- I had a hard time saying the word; it conjured up too many images of Bella lying broken and bleeding-"but how did that make you finally decide to come here after all this time?"
She blushed and looked away for a moment. She seemed embarrassed. I couldn't find anything in this situation that could be embarrassing but then, I had never understood the workings of Bella's mind.
She was quiet for a few moments. I was about to beg her to tell me what she was thinking when she took a deep breath and spoke.
"Well, it is kind of embarrassing really, "she said, looking down at her hands. She was twisting them together again. "While I was unconscious I had a strange dream, or vision I guess you could call it." Her cheeks burned pink again. "It was a replay of all of our time together. I saw every moment that we'd had together and watching it I knew I had to find you again. I knew that with my horrible luck that any moment might be my last and that I wanted to spend every moment I had with you. We have not had enough time with each other; time may cease to exist before we have had enough of it."
I could not speak for a long moment; I was astounded. She was right. Her life was ruled by some mean-spirited fate that wanted to end her life. She was so terribly unlucky that bad things kept happening to her and so terribly lucky that none of them had succeeded yet in killing her. And she was right about something else; we had not had enough time together. I wanted to spend every moment with her, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile, watching her beautiful eyes sparkle with mischief.
"You're right, we haven't had enough time. There is no such thing as enough time." I felt her heartbeat pick up in response to my words. "I was the biggest kind of fool, leaving you, thinking that was what was best for you. And it only ended up hurting us both."
I could not believe how stupid I had been, thinking I could live without her. The world had been a cold dark place when she was gone; now it seemed like the sun was shining once more, warming me again.
"Is that why you left, you thought it was what was best for me?" Her voice was incredulous and I could hear the anger. She tried to push away from me, trying to get up but I would not release her. I begged her with my eyes to stay in my arms. I sould not bear to let her go. She must have understood my wordless plea because she settled back down, though she took her arms from around me and crossed them over her chest.
"Bella, just being around me is dangerous enough for you, especially as potent as your scent is to me. But when I saw the danger you were in from others of my kind-James, Victoria, even Jasper for a moment-I knew I could not allow you to be hurt by what I am."
"But-in the forest-you said…you said you were leaving because you didn't want me. That I wasn't good enough for you." Her voice was clogged with pain and repressed tears. I was filled with remorse and anguish at the pain that I had caused her.
"My love, I had to tell you those things. I could see that there was no way you were going to give in, to let me leave without you. I knew I had to convince you that I didn't want you anymore, to make you believe that I was moving on. It was the only way I could think of to make sure you went on with your life after I had gone. But every word of what I said to you was a lie. When I told you I didn't want you," I shook my head sadly, "I can't believe I was even able to say it. The words were choking me, tormenting me the entire time. But I knew I had to say them, I had to make sure you were safe, that you had the chance to have a full and happy life."
"Edward, the only time I can be happy is when I am with you. All the time you have been gone I have been drowning, sinking farther and farther below the surface, into despair. Thinking of you, of seeing your face again, it is the only thing that pulled me up out of it, back into my life again. Whatever danger I might be in from your company can never be as bad as the emptiness when I am not with you."
My leaving had hurt her so much. More even than I had thought it would. I had hoped she would move on. NO! My heart cried. No, if I was honest with myself I knew that was a lie. I never wanted her to forget me as I would never forget her. But I hadn't wanted her to suffer either. And she had. She loved me so much and I had crushed her; I could see that now. I had underestimated her feelings for me. I could not forgive myself for wounding her so badly. I would work everyday to make amends.
I pulled her too me and cradled her against my chest. "I love you Bella." I felt her gasp and begin to tremble. "I told you that you were not good enough for me but the truth is, I can never be good enough to deserve you. I will try every day of my existence to be the man that you deserve."
I put my hand under her chin and pulled her face up to mine. She was smiling; tears were brimming in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. I gently brushed them away with my thumb and kissed her tear-wet lips. I pulled away and stared into her face, the most beautiful face in the world, the face of the woman I would love for the rest of eternity and felt true joy and happiness for the first time in months.
There were many questions burning in me and I needed my curiosity satisfied. I pulled her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her. She sighed and nestled her face over my silent heart.
"So what does Charlie think about you being here?" I could not believe that he might have agreed to let Bella come here alone.
"He doesn't technically know why I am here actually." She admitted sheepishly.
That's what I thought. "Where does he think you are?"
"He thinks that I am traveling with Alice and Jasper doing volunteer work abroad. You know, to fluff out my college applications."
That sounded a lot like Alice's idea. I wasn't angry with Alice anymore; having Bella in my arms again overshadowed any anger I might feel about Alice's machinations. I could not believe that she had gotten Jasper to go along with her plans though.
"Jasper knows you're here too?"
"Yes, it took a lot of convincing on Alice's part. She knew that Charlie wouldn't allow us to travel without a male escort." She laughed. "Charlie still didn't like the idea of me traveling to another country though, no matter how worthwhile the cause is. But Alice has Charlie wrapped around her finger and he finally agreed."
"Where are they now?" I knew that they could not be in Rio. I would have picked up Alice's or Jasper's thoughts easily since I was more tuned into their minds than most other people.
"Um, Santiago, I think. I am supposed to check in with Alice everyday. It seems silly to me since she already knows what I am doing or going to do, but it makes me feel better to talk to her. She always knows the right things to say."
"What do you mean?" There something in her tone that I could not identify.
"Well, it has been difficult to track you down. I knew that you were somewhere in the city but it's not like I could put up signs or something. You know 'Have you seen this man'?" I smiled a little at thought. She laughed a little then continued. "And I don't speak the language either so trying to make people understand has been interesting too. But she really just helped me keep my resolve."
"Your resolve?"
"Mmm-hmm. My resolve to keep looking for you. Alice has been encouraging, telling me not to give up hope and soothing my anxiety about seeing you again."
It made me sad that I had caused her so much pain that she had been worrying about seeing me again. Hearing that she might have given up searching for me had me holding her closer. She had been so brave to come here. A stranger in a strange place, not being able to speak the language and looking for someone she thought didn't want her. I would forever be in awe of her courage.
"I'm glad you didn't give up. And I'm sorry that you were so apprehensive about seeing me again. The way that I have treated you is abominable and I can never make it up to you but I will never stop trying." And I wouldn't.
"Edward, I am just so glad to be with you again like this. I was so afraid that you would turn me away, that Alice was wrong and that I was making a fool of myself. But being here, having you hold me again, it makes me so happy. Nothing else matters except that I get to be with you now." I could not fathom how she could forgive me so completely after everything. I truly did not deserve her.
"Bella, I promise you that I will never, ever leave you again. Being without you these last months…I don't ever want to feel that kind of pain ever again. And now, after seeing you and being able to touch you and have you in my arms again-there is nothing that could ever take me away from you ever again." We sat quietly together for a long moment.
"How long have you been here looking for me?" I asked. How many opportunities to see her again had I missed?
"I've been here for a week now. I wasn't sure where to look for you so I chose a hotel that was in the center part of the city. I've kind of been working my away around, showing your picture to people to see if they remembered you. It has been slow going, not only because of the language thing but also because I wanted to be back at the hotel before it got dark. I really didn't want to get lost in the city at night."
The thought of Bella alone at night in the city had me shuddering. What had Alice been thinking! There were so many things that could have happened to her wandering around by herself unprotected, even during the daytime. I was definitely going to have a long talk with my sister the next time I saw her.
Bella continued with her story. "Then I found someone, a woman of course, who remembered seeing you a couple of times. She told me that she had seen you in the courtyard and that it was probably my best bet. So I have been camped out there for the last few days, waiting to see if you came by."
I had been in that courtyard a few times in the last month. For some reason I found it calming, probably because of all the voices, mental and verbal, that washed over me there. It was almost like emotional Novocain; blocking out the pain in short bursts. It was only chance that had brought me out this afternoon though; I might have missed her altogether if something had not compelled me to come out today.
"I have a question," Bella asked, pulling me from my reverie.
"What is it?"
"Earlier, when you first saw me, why did you turn and walk away?"
Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. I didn't want to tell her that I thought she was a figment of my imagination, that I had thought I was hallucinating, but I owed her honesty.
"To be truthful, I didn't think you were real." I said sheepishly
"Really?" She sounded surprised and incredulous.
"Yes. I thought that my imagination had run away with me, giving me delusions. I thought that because I was so desperate to see you again that my brain was giving me visions of your face to appease me." It sounded silly to me now but it had been the only explanation I had been able to come up with at the time. The reality-that Bella would be here looking for me-would never have occurred to me in a million years.
She sat there, shaking her head. Then she giggled.
"Are you laughing at me?" I pretended to scowl at her.
"It's just funny because I was kind of thinking the same thing when we were talking before. I was worried that you would disappear." She giggled again.
"Not a chance. You are stuck with me now." I was smiling but I meant every word.
She smiled too. "You're damn right I am. I've followed you this far and you are not going to get away." She reached up and kissed the underside of my jaw. I could not resist. I bent my head down and pressed my lips to hers. I didn't think I would ever get enough of kissing her. My hand slipped behind her head, down to the soft skin at the nape of her neck and I held her to me. She responded by wrapping her arms around my neck and threading her fingers into my hair. We kissed for a long moment then I released her. I could feel myself getting carried away and I had to stop myself before the temptation became too much for me. She wrapped her arms around me and nestled against me, sighing in contentment.
We sat for a long moment and then I heard her stomach grumble. I had forgotten that she needed to eat more often that I did.
"Dinner time for the human?" I asked.
"I suppose so. I don't remember the last time I ate." I would have to be more careful to make sure she was taking care of herself. I did not want her to become ill.
"Well that won't do. Let's go get you something to eat." I slipped my arms underneath her and lifted her up, standing as I did so. I stared down at her. I could not believe how much difference a few hours could make. I had started out the day in such deep despair and now it felt like I could take flight with pure joy. Having her here, in my arms again was staggering. I had expected to spend the rest of my life alone, without her, and now I had been given a second chance. I would always be grateful for that.
She looked up at me, wondering why I had not moved. Her eyes warmed when she saw my expression.
"You don't know how happy it makes me, having you in my arms again. I had thought I would never see you again and now to be able to hold you again….I can't even find the words to describe it." I kissed her softly before lowering her to the ground. She wrapped her arms around me as soon as her feet touched the floor.
"I feel the same way. I have missed having you hold me and I thought I would never be able to feel your arms around me again. Now I feel like a kid on Christmas morning." She laughed.
She was so adorable. I bent and kissed her nose and then pulled her arms from around me and took her hand. "Come on, let's go get some food into you."
We made our way outside. I could feel Bella move a little closer to me. I was glad that she'd had enough common sense not to leave her hotel at night. There were so many dangers out here for her. I knew that even without reading the thoughts of the people coming out of the cantina.
A man tottered towards us and I stiffened as I read his thoughts about Bella. Revolting. I was glad that Bella did not understand Portuguese when he spoke.
"You are so beautiful. Come with me my sweet and I will show you many wonderful things. Your body will sing when I am done with you" He leered at her and I read in his mind the disgusting images of exactly what he wanted to show her.
"The lady is with me," I growled back at him in Portuguese. "If you want to continue breathing I suggest you remove yourself from here. Stay and they will not be able to identify your body as human when I am done with you."
The man looked at me for the first time and saw the deathly fury in my eyes. He backed away quickly and crossed the street away from us, fleeing into a cantina.
"What was that all about?" Bella asked. I took a deep breath and forced the fury from my body. I didn't want to scare her. I smiled down at her.
"Just another man who can't help but find you irresistible." I laughed at the expression on her face. Would she never understand the magnetic pull she had to all things male? "I just made sure he understood that you were taken."
She laughed and eyed me skeptically. I had forgotten how perceptive she was.
"Okay, but next time try not to scare them so badly." She laughed.
"Next time?" I knew there would be a next time too. She was too beautiful for her own good. Or mine for that matter.
"Well you said yourself I am sooo irresistible." She looked up at me and batted her eyelashes at me in an overly flirtatious way.
I laughed. "Indeed you are." I knew I would never be able to resist her again and I bent to kiss her.
We made our way to a small restaurant at the corner and found a table. I helped her translate the menu and gave the waitress her order. I could not keep my eyes off of Bella. Her skin seemed to glow in the soft light of the candle on our table. I thought to myself that I could travel the whole world and never see a more beautiful sight. She reached across the table and took my hand. Her hand was warm in mine and I could not resist bringing her hand to my lips. Her skin was so soft. I lowered our hands back to the table.
"So what are our plans from here?" she asked. Our plans. The words delighted me and I smiled at her.
"I was thinking we could spend a few more days here, give you a chance to really see the sights, before going to see my family in Denali. We can spend a couple of weeks with them before we have to be back for the start of school." Even though I hated having to go through high school over and over, knowing I could see Bella everyday made it worth it.
I looked at her and realized that there were tears in her eyes. Had I said something wrong? Did she want to stay here? Would she rather go straight home?
"Bella? What's wrong? We don't have to go to Denali if you don't want to," I hurried to reassure her, "we can stay here or I can take you back to Forks or-." She cut me off before I could finish my sentence. I would give her anything she wanted; all she had to do was ask.
"No, I want to see your family again. I was just starting to realize that I really do get to be with you, that's all." She dabbed at her tears and gave me a beautiful smile.
I smiled at her tenderly. I could not believe that I was lucky enough to be with this amazing woman.
Bella ate and we paid the check and left. I walked with her, hand in hand, back to the hotel. Back in the room Bella went to the nightstand and pulled out a cell phone.
"I have to call Alice, "she explained. "Of course she already knows what is going on but if I don't call she gets upset."
She dialed the number and Alice picked it up after only one ring. I could hear Alice's trilling voice on the other line.
Bella! She said. You found him! I'm so glad! Jasper and I will be there in Denali when you get there Friday. I am so happy! Bella you are the best sister anyone could ever have! Thank you so much!
"Hello Alice," Bella said dryly. They were the first words she'd had a chance to say. "I'm happy too. And we will see you in Denali I guess." She laughed. "Tell Jasper I said hello. You know, I just realized I haven't seen him in over six months? I am going to have to come up with some Jasper and Bella stories to tell Charlie so he won't be suspicious. And since I know you won't be able to keep it a secret, tell Carlisle and Esme and everyone else that I said hello."
I will Bella. See you soon! Bye!
Bella closed the phone, shaking her head and laughing. "Alice."
I thought about something she had said.
"I thought Jasper and Alice both brought you here."
"No, Alice flew with me to the airport here, and then she got on a different plane to go meet Jasper in Santiago."
"Why didn't they travel together?" It seemed strange to me for them to take two different flights.
"I don't know. I wondered about it too but Alice just said that Jasper had gone on ahead to get things ready." She shrugged.
That excuse sounded flimsy to me and I thought I knew why Jasper would not want to travel with Bella. After the incident he had been very upset. He was mortified that he might have actually killed Bella and angry with himself for losing control. After we had left Forks he had worried that I would blame him for everything that had happened. I didn't and I had told him that but I could imagine that he did not want to see Bella right now and be reminded. I hoped that he would be able to get over it soon. I hated the thought of him suffering so much and Bella was going to be around more often. If he was torn up by guilt it would make things very uncomfortable for him.
"So according to Alice we are going to be in Denali on Friday." Bella said, pulling me from my reverie. "That gives us two more days before we have to leave."
"Yes, I plan on showing you some of the local culture before we go. I will call the airlines to see what flights they have open. Though I am willing to bet there is a flight out on Friday." I laughed. If Alice said we would see her on Friday then there was a flight, guaranteed.
"Alright," she said. "While you do that I will go ahead and take a shower." She kissed me on the cheek before retrieving her bag of toiletries and some pajamas from a drawer.
She closed the door of the bathroom and I pulled my phone out of my pocket. There was a call I wanted to make before I called the airlines. I dialed the number and he picked up on the second ring.
Edward, Carlisle said. I am glad to hear from you again, son. How are you?
"Better than I have been in a long time."
Yes, Alice called and told us. I am so happy for you Edward. And Bella too.
"Thanks Carlisle. You were right. Being apart only hurt the both of us. But we are together now and that is all that matters. According to Alice we are going to be there on Friday so we will see you then. Please give my love to Esme.
I will. And tell Bella that we look forward to seeing her again. She has brought you back to us and we can never repay her for that. We will see you soon. He hung up.
I called the airlines and arranged a flight out for Bella and me on Friday morning. I could hear the water being turned off in the shower and I sat down on the bed to wait. As I sat there, I contemplated what Carlisle had said. We all, myself included, owed Bella a huge debt of gratitude. If not for her strength I would still be wallowing in despair and still hurting my family with my absence. She had brought my family back together and I was very thankful.
Bella opened the door to the bathroom and steam came flowing out into the room. Her scent was magnified by the warm water but the ache in my throat was very dull. I did not crave her blood with the same madness I once had. I wondered why that was. I did not have much time to think about it though. Bella came out of the bathroom and when I looked at her all my thoughts were driven from my head.
She was wearing a silky camisole top and shorts set. It was in a beautiful shade of periwinkle blue. Her long dark hair was around her shoulders and her skin was slightly pink from the hot water. She was absolutely breathtaking. She caught me staring at her and blushed. The color of her skin was gorgeous. I had to clear my throat before I could speak.
"I don't think I have ever seen you wear that before." My voice sounded husky even to me. I cleared my throat again.
She blushed a brighter pink. "No, it is new. Alice stole all my clothes and replaced them with new ones."
I would have to find a way to thank Alice one day.
She pulled back the blanket on the bed and lay down next to me. By necessity we kept the blanket between us; my skin was so cold she would have been freezing otherwise. But I compensated by pulling her up against me. I stroked her damp hair from the top of her head to her waist. She laid her arm over my stomach and snuggled up to my chest.
"Were you able to find a flight out?" she asked.
"Yes, for Friday morning. I also talked to Carlisle and they are expecting us."
"I've missed him and Esme," she sighed. Then she yawned.
"Okay," I said, "time to sleep." I reached over and turned off the lamp beside the bed.
"Edward?"
"Yes, my love?"
"Will you kiss me goodnight?" How could I deny such a request?
"If I must," I pretended to sigh.
She lifted her head and I pressed my cold lips against her warm soft ones. I felt her heartbeat start to pick up and she reached up and traced the line of my jaw with her fingertips. I pulled her more tightly to me and kissed her more urgently. I reached into the soft mass of her still-damp hair and held her in my kiss. She felt so good against my body. Her fingers tunneled into my hair. I could feel my control starting to slip. I had been away from her too long and my self-control was hanging only by a few threads. I knew I had to stop this before either of us got too carried away. I could not live with myself if I ever hurt her. I gentled the kiss and disentangled her from my hair. She gave a soft groan of disappointment. I understood exactly how she felt.
"Alright, time for you to rest." She pouted at me and I had to laugh at her expression. "I know, my love, but I only have so much self control. Now get some sleep."
She sighed and lay back down next to me. I started to hum her lullaby to her and she soon her eyes began to drift closed. Her breath became more even and she was soon asleep.