A/N Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken me a while to update... this week has been crazy! Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who continues to read and enjoy my story! Your support means more to me than I can express! Here's the next chapter! Please enjoy and let me know what you think! :)
Chapter 47 – Arrangements
Bella sat in Edward's lap completely stunned. Her heart broke for the poor girl who had been raped and was now missing. Her family must have been completely devastated.
She felt Edward's arms tighten his grip around her several times throughout the conversation and she would automatically hug him tighter in return. She knew he must be scared to death for her after what James had done.
If she was being honest with herself, she was completely sick from the matter; sick with fear of what he had done in his past, sick with knowing he had been in her room and through all her things, sick with worry of what he was going to do now and where he was hiding.
She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't hear all of the conversation going on in front of her. She knew Charlie had been talking for a few minutes, but she wasn't really hearing what he was saying. Finally, something Charlie said broke through the haze of her thoughts and she started paying closer attention. He had called Edward 'Son' and she was elated. Maybe Charlie really did accept Edward as part of the family.
"Until we find James, Carlisle and I have agreed that Bella shouldn't be left alone. From the prior rape charge to the fact that he is obviously one sick fuck because of what he did to Bella's room, I don't want to take any chances. As Chief of Police, my time will be better spent at the station, leading the efforts in find James. I need to know that you're willing to help me with this, Edward. Are you willing to keep our precious girl safe?"
She wanted to protest the fact that she wasn't allowed to be left alone, but truth be told, she didn't want to be; she never wanted to be away from Edward, ever. The reality of the situation was finally starting to sink in and she was afraid. James had been accused of rape, but was never charged because the girl disappeared. Now he seemed to be infatuated with her; he had destroyed her house and all her things and was nowhere to be found.
She was watching Edward, fear in her eyes, when he looked from Charlie to her. Their eyes met and she saw so much love and determination in his gaze that it left her speechless.
"Charlie, you don't even have to ask. I want nothing more than to keep Bella safe and I feel so honored that you would trust me with that task." As he was looking at her, his eyes wandered to her hand, which rested on his chest. She saw him smile when he saw his ring on her finger and it seemed to encourage him to continue.
"I love Bella with every fiber of my being and I want nothing more than to protect her for the rest of our lives. Charlie, sir, I have a question I need to ask you." Bella's heart skipped a few beats as she started putting together what it was he wanted to ask. "I was planning on waiting until after we graduate to ask, but now I think the sooner the better."
He brought his gaze down to meet hers again, asking her permission to continue without actually saying anything. This was one thing that came naturally to them – the ability to communicate without actually speaking. They would simply stare into each others eyes and have conversations, knowing exactly what the other person was feeling or needing. It was incredible, to say the least.
Bella returned his gaze with every ounce of love and adoration she could put into it. She was ready and it seemed that he was too. "Sir, I would like your permission to take Bella as my wife. I know we're young, but I can honestly tell you that I have never and will never love another woman for as long as I live. Bella carries my entire heart and soul with her and if anything were to happen to her, I honestly don't think I would survive it."
While Edward continued, she risked a glance at Charlie, although his appearance revealed nothing of what he was thinking. "Charlie, will you give me Bella's hand in marriage – if she'll have me?" Her eyes immediately returned to Edward, who was looking directly at her father. When his eyes returned to her, she couldn't help but smile at him. She loved this man wholeheartedly and nothing would ever change that. She couldn't have been more proud of him for the way he spoke to Charlie – so sure of what he was asking.
It must have only been a few seconds, but her attention was pulled away from Edward to her father as he asked, "Bella, is this what you want?" When she did look at her father, she could see the unshed tears welling up in his eyes despite the smile on his face. She didn't know if they were tears of sorrow or tears of joy but she answered his question honestly.
"Yes, Daddy, more than anything. I love Edward with my whole heart and soul. I want to spend the rest of my live with him. I know that he will love and cherish me and that he'll keep me safe. I want to marry Edward and eventually start a family with him."
She glanced up at Edward and saw his eyes shining at her words. She had already accepted his promise that he would one day propose, but they had never actually talked about starting a family. She had been thinking about it more and more, but it was a conversation they had yet to have. The look in Edward's eyes, though, told her exactly what she needed to know. The thought of starting a family with her made him extremely happy.
Again, her dad interrupted her moment, but she didn't really mind. "You realize that you'll still be expected to finish school, right?" She hadn't expected Edward to ask her dad so soon, but she also hadn't expected for Charlie to be so accepting of the whole situation. She thought for sure that he would make them wait until after graduation even if they did get officially engaged.
She hadn't even entertained the possibility of dropping out of high school to get married. Just thinking of what her mom would have said made her cringe internally. "Of course. I wouldn't dream of dropping out with less than a year to go. Mom would roll over in her grave," she answered, knowing it was the truth. "Plus, I think I might even have enough credits to graduate in December. I can look into it on Monday when I go back."
She couldn't help but look at Charlie with hopeful eyes. She hadn't thought about the possibility of marrying Edward until after high school, but now that the thought had been placed in her head, she couldn't help but wanting it more than she'd ever wanted anything. She was silently begging for him to say okay.
His demeanor seemed to change suddenly and he looked at them both before speaking. When he did speak, he spoke directly to Edward. "Promise me one thing," he said.
Without missing a beat, Edward replied. "Anything, sir."
Bella felt herself quivering with anticipation of his next words. Was he really going to give Edward permission to marry her? Would she really be tied to Edward legally instead of just physically?
She heard Charlie draw in a deep breath before speaking again. "Don't take my little girl away from me completely. Welcome to the family, Son."
She couldn't contain her excitement for another second. Without giving Edward a chance to respond, she grabbed his neck and pulled his face down to hers, kissing him with so much love and passion that the entire world disappeared around them.
…..
When Edward asked Charlie if he could marry Bella, he wasn't sure what to expect. All he knew was that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her safely in his arms. He thought the easiest way to accomplish that would be to marry her, so he finally gathered the courage to ask.
Bella's eyes had lit up with excitement as soon as he had and they held each other's gazes, letting the love they shared shine bright. When Charlie spoke, asking if Bella really wanted this, she broke eye contact to look at her father. Edward followed her gaze and saw that Charlie's eyes were wet with unshed tears.
He listened as Bella answered Charlie's question with a strong, sure voice. "Yes, Daddy, more than anything. I love Edward with my whole heart and soul. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I know that he will love and cherish me and that he'll keep me safe. I want to marry Edward and eventually start a family with him."
At her words, he suddenly saw the future very clearly. There was a small cottage with a white picket fence and flowers everywhere. Bella, as beautiful as ever, was standing in the yard positively radiant. As he looked at her, he noticed her belly was swollen with his child and she had never looked happier. Suddenly, he knew he wanted it; everything he saw in his head. It wasn't just Bella anymore, it was a family with Bella. He wanted it all.
As Charlie spoke again, the image disappeared and he felt almost empty. It would happen though, that much he knew. "You realize that you'll still be expected to finish school, right?" Charlie asked Bella. Edward wondered if he really expected her to just drop out because she got married. He hadn't known her for long, but he did know that she would never do something like that. Education was important to her.
Her answer was just as he would have expected. "Of course. I wouldn't dream of dropping out with less than a year to go. Mom would roll over in her grave." He felt her shudder slightly in his arms as she continued. "Plus, I think I might even have enough credits to graduate in December. I can look into in on Monday when I go back."
Edward would be able to graduate in December too if he wanted, he just hadn't had a reason to do so until now. He knew though that if Bella graduated early, he would too. He couldn't bare the thought of being separated from her for eight hours, not to mention that until James was apprehended, he wouldn't be letting her out of his sight.
He heard Charlie let out a deep sigh and looked up at him. He was looking at the both of them; Bella in Edward's lap and their arms wrapped around each other. "Promise me one thing," he said to Edward.
"Anything, sir," he replied immediately.
"Don't take my little girl away from me completely." With a smile on his face he added, "Welcome to the family, Son."
Edward didn't even have a chance to respond before Bella was attacking his mouth with hers. There was so much passion and love in that kiss that he felt like his head would explode. He couldn't have been happier and it seemed that Bella felt the same way.
A throat clearing brought him back to the Bella's kitchen. As he pulled away from her slightly, he saw the three other men at the table around them. Jake looked really uncomfortable, like he was intruding on a very private moment. Charlie was just smiling at them, a few stray tears finding their way down his cheeks.
Carlisle must have been the one to clear his throat, because as soon as Edward looked up, he smiled widely. "Congratulations Edward. Congratulations Bella. I have no doubt that you will make each other extremely happy."
Edward didn't know what to say, really. He was elated that he was just given permission to marry Bella before they even graduated high school. "Thank you Carlisle. Thank you Charlie." He suddenly remembered he hadn't made the promise to Charlie because of Bella attacking him with her kiss, so he turned to Charlie with a grin on his face.
"Oh, and Charlie I promise I'll never take her away from you. I know how important it is to her to have you in her life and I wouldn't dream of taking that away form either of you. Now, if you'll all excuse us, Bella and I need to talk about some details and you guys need to eat your lunch, which I'm sure is ice cold by now."
Slowly, he nudged Bella off his lap and stood up. Grabbing her hand, he led her up the stairs to her bedroom, closing the door behind them. When they looked around the room everything was completely unfamiliar. The paint on the walls was new, the bed, the bedding; it was practically a new room. A room she wouldn't be staying in any more if he had anything to say about it – at least not alone.
Bella walked over to her bed and sat down in the middle of it, patting the open space beside her. Smiling widely, Edward walked to her and sat down. Before he could even blink, she was kissing him again. Her lips assaulted his lips, his face, his ear and jaw and neck. They were everywhere she could find bare skin.
He reached his hands up to her cheeks and lightly pulled her away from him. "Bella, do you realize what this means?" She was practically bouncing up and down right there.
"Yes, Edward. It means that we're getting married! You're going to be mine forever!" she exclaimed. He had never seen her so happy in his life and that made his whole body warm inside.
"Love, it doesn't take a piece of paper for me to be yours forever. From the day I saw you in the meadow, I knew beyond all doubt that we would always be together. Watching you sleeping on that blanket, looking serene and beautiful, I knew I wouldn't rest until you saw it too. I love you Bella, so much."
He brought his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly, lips slightly parted. When he felt her tongue on his lower lip, seeking to deepen the kiss, he obliged. He tilted his head a little and fisted the hair at the nape of Bella's neck, holding her to him as his tongue made its way into her mouth, dancing languidly with hers.
After a few minutes, he pulled back again to look into her eyes. "Bella, we should talk about some things. I want you to have the wedding of your dreams even though we're sort of throwing this together; your happiness is my number one priority."
"Edward, marrying you is enough to make me happy for the rest of my life. I don't care about where we get married or who's there, as long as it's soon. You are everything to me and I can't even tell you how excited I am to be tying myself to you this one last way. I love you, too, Edward; more than I ever thought was possible."
He smiled at her exuberance. "So you're telling me we could go to Las Vegas right now and be married by some cheap, fat Elvis impersonator?" he asked, chuckling to himself.
"Yes, Edward. That's exactly what I'm telling you. I love you and nothing will change that. I don't care where we get married or how, as long as we get married." She paused for a moment with a skeptical look in her eyes. "Why? Did you have a 'perfect wedding' in mind?"
He heard her air quotes around 'perfect wedding' and he felt a little silly. He knew though that honesty was important in any relationship so he told her exactly what he was thinking. "Actually, Bella, I did. I thought that maybe we could talk to Sam, the lighthouse keeper and see if he'd let us have a small ceremony on the observation deck there. It would be a perfect place for a perfect wedding. I know you may not care about it now, but one day we can look back and smile at the memory. Would that be okay Bella?"
He watched silently as she thought about what he had said. He started to get really nervous when her eyes started to well up with tears. "Baby, don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you." With the pad of his thumb, he wiped at the few tears that had escaped and were streaming down her cheeks.
Bella smiled through her tears as she looked at him. "Oh Edward, I'm not upset at all. The lighthouse would be perfect. I didn't realize until you suggested it that it will always play a significant role in our lives. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. You have no idea how much it means to me."
He felt the smile pulling at his lips as he watched Bella, seeing her sincerity in her eyes. "Bella, you will always be the focus of my thoughts. I will do anything to make sure you are eternally happy, Love. Anything." He brought his mouth to hers again, getting lost in the feel of her lips against his.
Finally, his brain cleared and he remembered the conversation they were in the middle of. "Okay, so I'll call Sam and see if I can set something up. I guess the next question would be when?" He asked the question, knowing that if it were up to him, they would already be married. He was somewhat fearful that she would want to wait a month or so and he just didn't know if he could wait that long.
Bella looked contemplative for a moment before she answered his question. "Baby, I'm ready to start my life as your wife. I don't really care when we get married, as long as it's soon; the sooner the better in fact."
"Alright, so I'll call Sam and set it up as soon as possible. That leaves two final questions right now." He paused for a second before continuing, not wanting to upset her in any way. "With your mom being gone, I'm sure Esme will be happy to help with anything and everything she can, but you'll still want a maid of honor, right?" He waited for her to nod her head. "Who do you think you want to ask? She should probably be one of the first people to know."
"Honestly, I hadn't thought about it until now. Give me some time and I'll make a decision. What's the other question?" she asked him.
He smiled at her and then said, "This one's easy, Love. Who do you want to invite?"