Disclaimer: I do not own either Twilight or the Covenant. They are the property of their respective creators. I am simply playing with them for fun. It is my take on what might have happened during N.M. and afterward if maybe Bella had given her heart to and made plans with someone else before Edward.
[A/n: Thank you to all of my reviewers: Twilight Gleek, AdriaDeann and Jaspersdoll. You are all amazing. I really appreciate it.]
Tyler Simms was both relieved and anxious as he began to drive down the freeway towards Port Angeles. He was relieved to find that things were not what he had feared but anxious about the conversation he was going to have with his brothers soon. He knew that they would not take the news of Chase's survival very well. None of them ever wanted to have to see or hear from him again. However, it would seem that at least at this moment they were going to. He could also be assured that Caleb would ask a million questions about how he had found all of this out. That would mean having to admit that Bella knew their secret. It was the one thing that Tyler had ever kept to himself not even Reid knew that he had told Bella. Reid only knew that Tyler had met a girl and kept in touch with her over the years. Reid also knew just how much Tyler liked her. In his fear that Caleb would use on him in this one instance Tyler had kept his silence. To tone down the anxiety Tyler turned his thoughts to coming up with a special day to spend with Bella. He wanted this one date to be something that she would never forget.
As Tyler turned onto the Port Angeles exit he was yanked out of his thoughts by the sound of his phone ringing. Tyler knew that ring tone and that meant that his anxiety earlier had been felt by the others. He looked down at the screen of his phone and sure enough it was Reid. Knowing that it would not stop ringing until he picked it up, Tyler answered, "Hey Reid".
Reid Garwin had the world's worst timing under even the best of circumstances and tonight was no exception. It would also seem Alice Cullen would be a frequent irritation. "Judging from the large amount of anxiety that I sensed earlier I take it that your talk with Bella did not go so well." Ever the captain of stating the obvious Reid had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Tyler laughed before responding, "Actually Reid, it was the exact opposite of that. It went pretty well. It turns out that I misunderstood her letter. She was not interested in this guy. However, I did get some not so good news that I will have to share with everyone later." Reid growled at this, "You know that I absolutely can not stand waiting. You'd best tell me now after all I'm covering for you with Caleb." Tyler let out a sigh and relayed to Reid everything that had occurred with regards to Alice Cullen's visit.
Before Tyler could finish filling Reid in on the whole situation he had arrived at his hotel. "Hey Reid I am completely drained can I call you tomorrow?" Tyler was dead on his feet already and he needed to have a clear mind for everything that was going to be happening and soon.
Yawning himself Reid said, "Yeah that is alright. You'd better make that call first thing in the morning though. I want to finish this conversation and hear all of the details on your talk with Bella." Reid knew tht it was unlikely that his friend would share such details but he couldn't help but make the comment.
Tyler laughed, "I will call but you won't hear anything about what happened with Bella. I'd like to keep my private life private" and with that he hung up his cell phone. As he got out of the car he found that he was completely worn out. Tyler made his way up to his room and allowed himself to lie down and go to sleep.
Meanwhile, Bella could not even begin to go to sleep. She was not happy that Alice had chosen to barge in on her time with Tyler. She hoped that it had not caused any trouble in this long path to reconciliation between them. Bella had enjoyed the friendship that she had with Alice that was not the problem. She just simply did not want anything to further complicate things between her and Tyler at the moment.
It was clear from their earlier conversation that Tyler had read her letter and it had triggered an emotion previously unseen in him, jealousy. Tyler thought that she had come to prefer someone else to him. That was not the case but she did not want him to ever get the wrong idea again. She knew all too well from Tyler what Pogue got like when Kate flirted with other guys and it was not pretty. She had promised herself a long time ago that she would not give Tyler a reason to act like that ever. Up until this last year Bella had done an excellent job of keeping that promise to herself. It was not all bad though. She had to admit that the fact that he had gotten jealous was cute to her. It pleased her to know that he valued her that much. Tyler had never been possessive like Edward was but it was clear that he valued her affection and wanted her loyalty and constancy.
As Bella began her nightly routine she found herself wondering what her life would be like if she and Tyler both got into Harvard. Would they get an apartment together or would they stay at his parent's estate? Would Tyler want to get married first? All sorts of thoughts and questions ran through her mind. They had planned and promised to go to college and be together however they had not worked out the specific details of their life together yet. Bella had frequently gotten the feeling that the details of it were not as important to Tyler as long as she was there. Perhaps Tyler wanted her to be out there with him before they had that conversation or maybe just maybe he assumed that knowing each other as they had over the years that she knew how it would work.
As she could not get to sleep she decided to pull out a box that she had with a few simple letters and small presents to look over them once more. She realized that the letters were placed in there in no particular order and so it would be no small task to place them in order. Sitting down on her bed she began the long and tedious process of doing that. Eventually the tedious task helped her to fall asleep clutching the necklace that she had received from Tyler all of those years ago. For once Bella was not tossing and turning in her sleep. Bella's dreams were sweet and simple all of them about starting a new life when she went to Harvard next year with Tyler. She dreamed of taking classes in art, literature and architecture and starting her own firm. She had to admit that in part she was inspired by Esme. Esme had successfully managed the sort of life that Bella wanted. Well, that is true aside from being a Vampire. Bella had thought that she would like to design homes for people and decorate them herself.
Bella woke up with a jolt when the smell of coffee reached her from downstairs the following morning. Looking at her clock Bella realized that it was 6 o'clock in the morning and decided that she would try and get a little more sleep before she needed to wake up. Unfortunately that was not meant to be. As soon as she had turned over she found herself waking up to the sound of her cell phone beeping. She had just received a new text message and since she was still awake she decided that she would go ahead and see what it said. She smiled when she saw that the message was from Tyler. It read: Morning Bella, I'm going to be over at your place around 9 to pick you up. You might want to plan on wearing something nice and comfortable for a long day. I'll see you then. Bella read the message again and then smiled and got up from bed so that she could get ready for the day.
Bella could not help but be grateful all of a sudden for Alice's stubborn insistence that she take the clothes that she bought for her. Bella swiftly made her way to the bathroom and showered. That done she dressed quickly in a blue button down top and soft cotton v-neck argyle sweater, with a pair of matching blue jeans by Sevens. She took the time to brush and straighten her hair and put on some light make up. Bella then decided to put the necklace on and pulled on grey pumas to finish off the outfit.
Tyler woke up quite early since at home it would already be 9 o'clock and he would be up in order to do homework. Deciding to get a start on the day he sat down to get some work done on the homework that Reid had picked up for him before he departed. He was thankful for the long plane ride which had allowed him to get some of it accomplished on his trip to Seattle. That left him free after just twenty minutes to focus on the plan he had for their day. He decided to send a text message to Bella and let her know what time he would be picking her up. He then proceeded to get ready for the day himself.
Tyler made quick work of showering and taming his hair. He then pulled on a red button down shirt and black jeans polishing it off with black sketchers and a black jacket. Last on the list for things to in order to get ready was go and get coffee while making the days reservations. Tyler found his way to Starbucks using the navigation system in the car and quickly got in line to place his order. Finally, he sat and placed reservations for their day out together before he had to return to Spencer Academy.
The first call that he made was too the Metropolitan Grill in Seattle where he made reservations for dinner that night. The next call that he made was to Reid who answered still in groggy overly tired voice. Tyler had to roll his eyes at this. His friend was next to impossible to get up out of bed during the weekends. "Reid, I need you to do me a favor and if you do then I will owe you for the rest of my life."
That apparently woke the blond son up quickly who responded, "What is it dude?" Not only did Tyler not call in favors often and so Reid would not have said no to begin with. Tthe fact that Tyler counted this one big enough that he would owe Reid had caught his attention.
Tyler's face broke into a grin. "I need you to go over to my place and get something out of my safe. You will know what it is once you see what is in there."
[A/n: I am sorry that I took so long in writing this chapter. It was harder to write than I thought that it would be. I am also sorry it is a little shorter. Question for you all: What do you think Tyler will be asking Reid to get for him from home?]