A/N Sorry, I was rereading this and found some really bad mistakes in the dialogue. I have corrected what I found and am replacing the last chapter. :) I'll be adding the next chapter in a few hours, so stay tuned!

Chapter 21 - Nightmare

When Edward dropped Bella off at her house, he walked her up to the door and stood there for a minute. The smile he saw on her face told him she was reliving the last hour in her mind. He felt his lips turn up as well as he too relived it.

Reality of the situation soon set in though and he began to frown. Bella looked up at him with pleading in her eyes and it broke his heart. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him, burying his face in her hair.

"Bella, I love you with my whole heart and soul. Since I met you, you have occupied my every thought. I'm sorry I have to leave you, but I promise I will be on your doorstep at eight a.m. sharp tomorrow morning. We'll pack a lunch, go to the meadow, and I'll give you your surprise. We'll spend the day in each others arms and figure out what we're going to do about Monday." He felt tears well up in his eyes but he was determined not to let them spill. Instead, he held her tighter and kissed the top of her head.

Her face was buried in his chest and he felt her silent sobs as her shoulders shook against him. "Don't cry Love! Please? Bella, look at me," he said as he stepped back and placed his hand under her chin, tilting her face up. She lifted her eyes to meet him and the love she felt for him was reflected there, but it was mixed with fear and hurt. He would do anything to make the last two disappear, but he was feeling the same way right then.

He took a deep breath before speaking. "Bella, please talk to me. I love you so much and I just want to help you. I wish I could stay here and hold you in my arms all night tonight. I know this is hard, but I promise we'll be able to be together again tomorrow. I'm scared too sweetheart, but I know that you love me and that's what's helping me make it through this." He smiled at her before gently bringing his lips to hers.

She closed her eyes and leaned into his kiss, tightening her arms around his waist. Finally, she pulled back and opened her eyes again. "Thank you Edward. I love you too. Thinking about being apart from you tonight makes it feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. I'm scared that this is all a dream. I'm terrified that I'm going to wake up in the morning and realize that my imagination has run wild. I'm afraid that this fantasy is going to turn into my worst nightmare when I wake up and you're not there. I have this gut wrenching feeling that you're going to just disappear. I don't want to let you go Edward. I love you too much to even contemplate it."

Her words seemed to tear his heart into pieces. She was scared and in pain and that simple fact hurt Edward as well. They were so closely linked that when she described the feeling of her heart being ripped from her chest, he felt it just as strong in his. He held her tightly to his chest, cradling her in his arms. "It's going to be okay beautiful, I promise you that. We can get through anything as long as we do it together. I can't stay here with you physically, but I will always be in here." He took his hand and placed it over her heart.

"My heart belongs to you Bella. Know that when I leave, I will leave it here with you. Will you look after it for me?"

He felt Bella squeeze him even tighter before whispering into his chest three words. "Always, my love."

He squeezed her back before stepping out of the embrace. "It's time for me to go baby. I love you so much. Every single thought I have tonight will be about you. I'll be thinking about how I want you in my arms, how I want to be able to feel you in my bed with me and smell your hair and feel your amazingly soft skin." She looked up at him and smiled before bringing her lips to his again.

Finally, she stepped closer to the door and put her hand on the knob. "I love you too Edward; more than anything in this world. Thank you." With that thought, she opened the door and disappeared inside.

Edward's stomach dropped into his feet as he turned around to walk back to his car. The thought of being separated from her for the next ten hours was absolutely wretched. He could do this though. He had to be strong for Bella. He knew if she saw him fall apart there would be no hope for either of them.

When he got home, he said a quick hello to his mom and dad who were sitting in the living room before he headed up to his room. He took a quick shower to clean up after their evening in his car and then toweled off before climbing into bed.

As he lay there, he thought of his beautiful Bella. He thought about the past two days of holding her and kissing her and making passionate love to her. He felt his dick jump at that last thought and moved his hand down to give his erection some satisfaction. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as when Bella touched him, but he was still able to work it hard enough and long enough to orgasm. The sensation was lacking though compared to the many he'd had in the last thirty-six hours.

Feeling dejected, Edward closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. He tossed and turned all night with one face recurring over and over in his dreams; Bella Swan.

…..

She was lying on her back in a beautiful meadow with wildflowers growing all around her. She didn't recognize where she was but she fell instantly in love with the place. The sun was shining for once, the sky was a brilliant blue, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. This definitely wasn't a normal day in Forks, but she couldn't help but smile.

She lifted her arms up above her head and created a pillow with them. She smiled once at the scenery and then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When she awoke, there was someone next lying next to her. He was kissing his way up her neck to her ear before sucking the lobe into his mouth and nibbling on it. She felt her self respond to him and the electricity charged touch he brought. Her hands found his oddly colored hair – not red, not brown, not blonde, but a combination of all three – and she pulled his face up from her neck.

This man was beautiful. He was slightly familiar but she couldn't place where she had seen him before. Could he maybe go to school with her? Possible. He had a strong jaw, high cheekbones and an aristocratic nose. That wasn't the best part though. What really caught her attention about him were his eyes.

His deep, emerald green eyes bored into her with an intensity that made her gasp. She saw so much desire in that one look that her head was reeling. Was it possible that she was misreading this look, or did he want her as bad as it seemed he did?

He answered her unspoken question by bringing his mouth down to hers. He kissed her so reverently at first, with his right hand trailing lightly up and down her left arm, which now lying at her side. "So beautiful," she heard him whisper as he continued to kiss her.

Finally, she felt his tongue on her lower lip, seeking entry into her mouth and she opened up to him, allowing him to deepen the kiss he had started. He practically devoured her and it only made her want more.

She brought her hands to him and began rubbing and gently scratching up and down his back before slipping them under the hem of his shirt. They traveled around his abdomen and up to feel his erect nipples. She allowed her thumb to trail circles around them, feeling them get impossibly harder.

There was a need burning inside her stomach and lower down, telling her she needed more of this man. She needed him to touch her and she needed to touch him in return. As if echoing her thoughts, he brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "Bella I need to feel you. Will you let me touch you? I won't hurt you, I promise. I love you so much."

She gasped. How did he know her name? She knew he had looked familiar, but she still couldn't place it. She thought back to the past few months in Forks, thinking about everyone she had seen or met. Finally, her thoughts wandered to her second day here. Charlie had taken her to a barbeque at the Cullen's house. That was it! She had seen this gorgeous creature there. Edward Cullen!

She smiled at remembering and he took that as a confirmation of his question. He one handedly unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down before sliding her shirt up above her belly. He placed gentle kissed over her abdomen and then started to move lower.

When his scruff touched the inside of her legs, she felt herself buck underneath him. Her body was demanding more of him and she was somewhat confused. Desire won out over confusion though and she allowed him to kiss the spot that was burning through her panties. She watched as he inhaled deeply and grinned at her. "God Bella, you smell so good when you're aroused. I wonder… do you taste just as good?"

The next thing she knew, he had removed her panties and snaked his tongue out to lick up her opening. Oh. My. God! She felt her hips involuntarily thrust into his face as he sucked her into his mouth, circling her clit with his tongue. When he bit down, she became unglued. She lifted her hips up into his face while fisting her hands in his hair to hold him securely between her legs.

She wanted to voice the question buzzing around in her mind but she wasn't sure how. She wanted him to tell her how this happened because she couldn't remember anything other than the fact that she needed this man in front of her. She wanted to voice it but was shocked into silence as he stood an unbuttoned his pants, letting them fall to the ground. He tugged at his boxers and freed his erection as they too slid down.

This man was beyond perfect. Every plane of his body was pure perfection, from his muscled pecks and abdomen; to the way his hips gave perfect frame to what was below the belt. She felt herself blush profusely as he stood there completely naked in front of her.

Before she could catch her breath or recover from her embarrassment, he was kneeling in front of her, positioning himself at her entrance. She could feel a throbbing between her legs as her body responded. She was going to be deflowered by this god of a man in front of her and there was no way in hell she was turning him down.

She spread her legs a little wider and watched as his thumb traveled down her stomach to her swelling clit before stroking it. She needed to feel him inside her; to lessen the scorching sensation that was feeding off of her, burning her alive. She felt his tip start to enter her before everything went black.

She looked around frantically. She couldn't see a thing. The world around her was as black as pitch. She didn't know where she was or when it was. The only thing she knew was that she was alone. Edward was not with her and she felt the loss deep within her soul.

She got up and started fumbling around blindly, calling out to him, crying for him, telling her she needed him; all to no avail. He was gone and she knew deep down that she would never see him again. She couldn't help herself; she drew in a deep breath and let out a blood-curdling scream.

…..

Charlie woke up to the sound of Bella screaming at the top of her lungs. He immediately panicked and reached for his gun. It sounded as if someone was attacking her and he was going to stop it.

Without even bothering with his robe, he jumped out of bed, gun in hand, and ran to her room. He threw the door open and was baffled for a minute; there was no one there.

He flipped on the light switch and saw that Bella was in her bed thrashing and kicking while she continued to scream. He quickly discarded his gun on her dresser and ran to the bed. He sat down beside her and started gently shaking her.

"Bella, honey. It's dad. You need to wake up. Bella! Wake. Up!" He was shaking her vigorously now trying to get her to come out of her nightmare.

Finally, she blinked her eyes open and then closed them again quickly, squinting into the bright light. Charlie quickly got up and shut the light out so Bella could see and let her eyes adjust. He went back to the bed was panicked when he realized that Bella was crying hysterically.

He pulled her into his arms and gently rubbed her back. "Baby, what's wrong? You had a bad dream sweetheart. That's all it was; just a dream. It's okay now. Everything's going to be okay, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you."

He was trying to calm her down, but his words just made her cry harder and start mumbling. "No. He's gone. It's not going to be okay. It will never be okay. It was a dream and he's gone." She wasn't making any sense, but he kept holding her and rocking her and rubbing circles on her back.

"It's okay baby, it's okay now." He repeated the litany over and over again as her tears slowly ebbed. Finally, she stopped crying all together. Her shoulder still shook and she was still gasping for breath, but there were no more tears falling.

"Sweetheart, do you want to talk to me about your dream? I know you're upset baby, but it was just that… a dream. It wasn't real. Can you talk about it?"

He could tell she was hesitating and he didn't exactly understand why, but he sat there patiently, allowing her to collect her thoughts. After about three minutes, she seemed to have pulled herself together enough to talk. She drew in three calming breaths and then started to retell the dream.

"Edward and I were in a beautiful meadow just holding each other in our arms and talking." She paused for a minute and he could tell she was mentally editing the dream, but he didn't want to call her on it; it was none of his business. "Everything was so perfect. He told me he loved me and he needed me and he held me so tightly in his embrace. He was about to…um… kiss me when everything went completely black."

Charlie felt her start to shake and he knew she had started crying again so he continued just rocking her in his arms while rubbing her back.

"It was so black. I couldn't see anything; I couldn't hear or feel anything. It was like I was swallowed into an abyss, never to see the light of day again. I was so scared. One minute I was in Edward's arms and felt so safe and secure, and the next he was ripped away from me and I was completely alone and terrified. I searched for him for what felt like hours finding nothing. There was no break in the darkness; no sound made, not even my footsteps falling. The only thing was my frantic calling for Edward, but he never came. He promised he would always be there, but he wasn't. What if he leaves me in real life too? I can't take it Charlie. I wouldn't survive this one."

She looked up at him sadly, tears still streaming down her face. He didn't know what to say to her. He had seen the way that Edward looked at her; the love and devotion in his eyes. He had never witnessed that level of commitment in someone before, but he fervently believed that Edward would never leave Bella.

He told her just that too. "Bella, I saw the way he was looking at you tonight. Honey, he loves you; that much is so obvious. I don't think he could ever hurt you, even if he wanted to. I know you've seen it too. You two were obviously meant to be together and no one or nothing is going to stand in the way of that. I promise it's going to be okay. I have no doubt in my mind sweetheart."

Bella nodded into his chest before speaking again. "I know you're right dad. I know he loves me, or at least my heart know it. The problem is that my mind is somehow disagreeing. It's like it's trying to tell me somehow that Edward is going to be ripped away from me like mom was. I just wouldn't be able to survive that if it happened dad. I need him. I need to feel his arms around me and I need to feel his breath in my hair. It's hard to explain it, but I just don't feel whole right now because he's not here. It's like when he dropped me off tonight he took my heart with him, leaving a wide, gaping hole in my chest. It doesn't feel like I will ever be whole again unless I'm with him. I know it's not feasible to be with him all the time, but that's just what I want; just what I need."

Charlie heard her sigh and looked down at her. "I'm so sorry you're hurting sweetheart. Maybe there's something I can do. You just sit here and I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?" When she nodded, he set her down and left her room. It was nearly two in the morning, but he knew Esme wouldn't mind. He picked up the phone and dialed her cell phone number.

…..

Bella just sat on her bed, with her back against her headboard, unable to rid herself of the feeling of abandonment. She knew Edward loved her. Like Charlie said, it was obvious in the way he looked at her. She knew he would never leave her intentionally. She knew it deep in her bones, but she still she couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to be taken from her.

She felt the tears stream down her cheeks non-stop as she hugged her knees and just rocked back and forth. Charlie said he would be back, so about fifteen minutes later when someone rapped lightly on her door; she simply yelled to him that it was open.

Her eyes were closed, so she didn't see Edward enter her room. She didn't see him climb on her bed and pull her into his arms. The second he did though; she knew everything was going to be okay. She felt safe and whole again. "Oh Edward, I was so scared I was going to lose you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being here and holding me. Thank you."

She felt him lie on his side and pulled her down beside him, snuggling up to her back. "Bella, I love you. I promise I'm never going to leave you. I'm always going to be right here. Shh… it's okay now. Go to sleep, I'll hold you and never let you go."

He continued whispering into her ear that he loved her and wouldn't leave her. Feeling save and secure, exhaustion finally won out and Bella, smiling widely, slipped into a dreamless sleep, being held in the arms of the man she loved.