A/N As promised, here is today's chapter. Read, enjoy, and send me your reviews! Thank you to everyone who is reading! You are all amazing! :)
Chapter 22 - Stalling
Edward held Bella tightly in his arms as she fell back to sleep. When someone knocked on his door at two in the morning, he was really irritated. He had already been tossing and turning for half the night, but had at least been able to catch a few minutes of restful sleep here and there. This interruption was bound to change that so he snapped at the caller. "What?" If it was Alice he was going to wring her scrawny little neck.
That thought actually brought a smile to his face; a smile that was quickly sobered when Esme announced it was she behind the door.
"Crap, um… just a sec Mom." Edward hastily climbed out of bed and went to his dresser to grab a pair of boxers. He hadn't gotten dressed after his shower last night; he just toweled off and then climbed into bed. He blushed slightly, remembering what else he had done last night.
He slid into his boxers and then ran into his bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face. He didn't want Esme to see him blushing at this time of the morning wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. She might start to wonder what exactly he was doing when she knocked on his door.
When he felt calm enough to answer the door, he opened it slightly, hiding most of his body behind it. When he saw the look on her face, his breath rushed out of his body leaving him standing there just gaping at her. "What is it mom? What happened?"
Esme took a deep breath and seemed to be searching for the right words. Finally, she explained, "Charlie called about 5 minutes ago. Apparently Bella woke up screaming at the top of her lungs. He thought she was being attacked, but when he got to her room, no one was in there with her.
"It took him about ten minutes to calm her down enough to where she could even talk to relay the dream to him. She just kept sobbing into his chest and saying 'he's gone'. Finally, she was calm enough to tell him that in the dream, you disappeared. It terrified her.
"He called to ask me if you could go back over there so that you could calm her down. He thinks that you're the only one who will be able to help her sleep; that your presence alone will allow her to relax enough to where she might be able to sleep without nightmares.
"Honey, I believe she's having abandonment nightmares and that Charlie is right. She's terrified of losing you. I should have seen this possibility with how quickly the two of you bonded, but I just didn't. Charlie would really appreciate your help with this. Will you help him?"
Edward was frozen as his mother talked to him about Bella. As soon as he heard that she was the reason his mom was at his door at this ungodly hour, his heart dropped down into his feet and his body grew cold. He had automatically assumed the worst. When she told that Charlie wanted him to go over there again and was asking for his help, he jumped up and started looking for clothes. He had promised Bella that he would always be there for her and he meant it.
He didn't care that it was two in the morning, he didn't care that he too was exhausted; what mattered was that she needed him and he would always do everything in his power to help her. He got dressed, kissed his mom on the top of the head, and headed out to his car.
When he got to Bella's house, her dad looked absolutely frantic. He could tell how lost the chief must have felt – how helpless. Edward would feel helpless too until Bella was back in his arms.
He allowed Chief Swan to tell him what had happened, even though he said the same thing that Esme had. He didn't want to be rude because he could tell how upset he was, but Edward was just dying to sprint upstairs and pull Bella into his arms. He needed to feel her and hold her in his lap. That was the only way for him to make sure she was okay.
When the chief was done recanting the story he looked up at Edward, pleading with his eyes. "I just didn't know what else to do; I didn't know who to call. Thank you for coming."
"Chief Swan, I would do absolutely anything for Bella, including coming over here at two in the morning to make sure she's okay. I love her, Sir. I would be completely lost without her. There's no need to thank me."
"Edward, please call me Charlie. And you may feel there is no need for me to thank you, but you would be wrong. Son, I just got Bella back. The circumstances under which that happened were not good to say the least, but I finally have her back and I can't lose her again. She was happier today than I have ever seen her and that's because of you. I can't explain it, but I know it's true. She needs you as much as I need her, so that means that you're part of this family now. I can't thank you enough Edward; not now, not ever. Now go, she needs you." With that, Edward turned around and walked up the stairs, leaving Charlie alone in the kitchen.
He stood at her door and knocked on it lightly. When Bella called that it was open, he pushed the door inward. He wanted to fall to his knees at the sight of her; the way she was curled up on herself was enough to rip his heart out of his chest. He knew that she needed him so he couldn't allow himself to do that.
Slowly, so as not to startle her, he walked over to her bed, climbed up beside her and pulled her into his arms. The moment he made physical contact, she visibly relaxed. Her eyes were still closed but somehow she knew it was him that was holding her. "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."
Edward lay down on her bed and pulled her down beside him as close as he could so that they were spooning. "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 felt her relax even more as he continued whispering to her that he loved her and would always be there. After a few more minutes, he heard her breathing deepen and become more even and knew she had fallen asleep. He continued to hold her in his arms until he too fell into a sound sleep.
…..
Bella woke up on Sunday morning feeling a little tired. She started to stretch out and felt an arm tighten around her waist. That's when the events of last night came flooding back to her.
She wiggled around in his arms until she was facing him. "Good morning, Handsome," she told him shyly.
He smiled down at her before kissing her on the forehead. "Good morning my love."
"Did my dad call you? Is that why you're here?" Bella remembered that Charlie had told her he might be able to do something. She had let him go without asking him what he was planning. The next thing she knew, Edward was pulling her into his arms and she felt whole again.
At the time, she was content to leave it at that. She could finally relax and fall asleep, knowing that Edward was with her. Now, she wanted her answers; she needed to know if Charlie had been willing to do that for her.
"Charlie called Esme at two this morning. He told her that you woke up screaming and he couldn't calm you down. He explained your dream to her and they both decided that it would be best for you if I were to come over, so here I am." He smiled at here again before kissing her lips briefly. "Bella, do you want to tell me about your dream?"
She knew this was coming but she wasn't quite ready to relive the dream just yet. She needed to stall for a few minutes so she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed tightly. "Edward, I will tell you anything you want to know, but not yet. I'm not ready to relive the dream just yet. First, I need to go to the restroom. I'm probably blasting you with nasty morning breath and I want to take care of that because I really want a proper kiss this morning." She smiled at him and winked. "I was thinking that if we were still planning to go to the meadow, I could explain it to you there. I feel almost as safe there as I do being in your arms. If I had both, I know I could handle the dream again without losing it."
"Bella, you do not need to brush your teeth for me to kiss you in the morning," he chuckled at her. Then, before she could protest, his mouth crashed against her lips as he rolled over to hover above her, leaning on his elbows.
The electric current that she had become so used to, was present and made the kiss that much sweeter. She felt Edward lick her lower lip with his tongue, seeking entrance to her mouth. She granted him access and he deepened the kiss, his tongue dancing an intimate dance with hers.
Laughing, she pushed against his chest after a few minutes of kissing. When he looked at her with a question in his eyes, she smiled at him again. "Baby, I might not need to brush my teeth before kissing you in the morning, but do you!" She started laughing hysterically and he actually growled at her and looked really offended.
His lower lip jutted out of his face and he pouted as he said, "Fine. Go do what you need to do in the bathroom. I guess I'll go home and brush my teeth so I can kiss my girlfriend properly. I might as well shower while I'm there. I probably stink as bad as my breath."
Bella couldn't help but giggle at his reaction; he was so cute. She rolled him off of her and then straddled his lap. "Baby, I was teasing you. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. You don't need to go home to brush your teeth. In fact, you're not allowed to go home. I have an extra toothbrush here you can use, and if you want, you can shower here too." She winked at him and felt a smile tugging at her lips. "Today's Sunday, so he's probably gone fishing. You can take a shower with me if you want."
She saw the desire burning in his eyes as she slowly brought her lips down towards his. She hovered about an inch above him and smiled. Suddenly, he hands lifted and pulled her into him. He kissed her long and hard and with a passion that equaled a nuclear explosion.
After a few minutes of their make-out session, she climbed off of him and went to look out her window. The cruiser was gone, just as she suspected, so she started walking toward the bathroom, leaving a wake of clothes trailing behind her.
Before she was even halfway to the bathroom, she felt him come up behind her and spin her around, crashing his lips against hers. She eagerly returned his kiss as he pinned her, already naked, against the wall. She felt his hands roam over her body, fondling her breasts, caressing her nipples, and finally moving between her legs.
She felt her knees buckle at his touch a split second before he lifted her into his arms and brought them both into the bathroom. He set her down on the toilet seat before turning to the shower and adjusting the water flow. Once the water had warmed up to a tolerable level, he lifted her again and stepped into the shower with her.
They must have spent an hour in the shower touching each other and kissing each other and exploring every inch of each other. All too soon though, the water ran cold and sobered the mood.
Edward stepped out of the shower first, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself. Then, he pulled another one off the bar and held it out for Bella. She stepped out of the tub and turned her back to him. As he wrapped the towel around her, he pulled her into an embrace, kissing her neck and nibbling her ear.
"Bella, you are so beautiful and amazing and perfect. I don't think I will ever be able to get enough of you." His voice was rough with desire as he finished.
Bella turned to him and smiled. "Thank you Edward. You are the most amazing man on this planet and I'm so glad you're mine. I love you so much I can hardly stand it." With the towel wrapped securely around her, she leaned in for another kiss. "As much as I hate to say this though, we should probably get dressed. It's such a shame to cover that sexy body of yours, but if we're going to get anything done today, it's really necessary."
She laughed as she turned to the sink and pulled out her toothbrush. Before she brushed her teeth, she pulled an unopened toothbrush from the medicine cabinet and handed it to Edward. He smiled at her and then placed one easy peck on her lips. "Thank you, Beautiful. I love you!"
"I love you, too, Edward, now get your cute butt moving!" She playfully tapped his butt before turning back to brush her teeth with Edward quickly following suit.
After they were done in the bathroom, they headed off to Bella's room. She picked up the scattered clothes from the floor on her way, giggling at the memory of her seduction.
Edward had brought a change of clothes, which he began to put on as Bella rifled through her drawers deciding what to wear. Finally, she decided on a pair of stonewashed jeans and a light blue tank top and quickly got dressed with her back toward him. When she turned around, her breath hitched in her throat. He was absolutely gorgeous.
He was hearing a dark green polo shirt, which brought out his eyes, and a pair of loose fitting khaki shorts. His hair, still wet from the shower, remained disheveled on top of his head and she found herself reaching up to run her fingers through it.
"Baby, you are so beautiful," she told him smiling. "I know 'beautiful' is not a word that men like to be described by often, but there really is no other word. You are simply beautiful." She stood on the tips of her toes and brought her lips up to meet his. He returned her kiss reverently, cupping his hand behind her neck.
"Do you still want to go to the meadow?" she asked. She knew what his answer would be but she still wanted to ask.
"Will you tell me about your dream if we stay here?" When she didn't say anything he continued, "Then we're going to the meadow. You need to tell me what happened so I can figure out a way to help you. I love you, Bella. Seeing you so upset last night nearly ripped me apart. If I can keep that from happening again I will. I won't be able to do that though, unless you tell me the whole dream."
Bella sighed and turned toward the door. "Fine, let's go. I need to grab something to eat for breakfast though before we leave. Have you had a chance to pack us lunch?"
When he shook his head at her she laughed. "Alright then, Handsome, you've got some work to do too. Let's grab breakfast and then we can go to your house and pack lunch. We can still make it to the meadow by ten if we hurry."
She smiled at him and reached for his hand. When he took it, she twined their fingers and led him downstairs. They quickly grabbed a bowl of cereal and then headed off to Edward's house.