A/N So it's Sunday and has been just over a week since my last update. I wanted to update several times this week but one thing after another happened and I had absolutely no free time to write. I did get to walk about 15 miles in 4 days plus deal with public transportation and lines at the Motor Vehicle Division, which is never any fun. Anyway, thank you so much to every one who reads this story! Here's the next chapter for you. I've already started the one to follow it, so I'm hoping to have it up in the next day or two, but no guarantees. If you want to help my week get better, please take a second to review and let me know what you think. Your reviews really do help keep me motivated! Thank you so much! 3
Chapter 49 – Revelation
Edward stood beside her, their hands linked as they waited for Angela to open the door. When she did, she seemed a little nervous because she didn't know what to expect. When she saw Bella in front of her holding Edward's hand, a wide smile spread across her face. "Come on in, you guys," she told them as she stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.
"Ang!" Bella practically squealed making Edward chuckle. "How are you, girl?" As soon as she got inside the door, she released his hand and threw her arms around Angela. She couldn't help but notice Edward smiling to himself at their display.
"Bella! It's so good to see you! Where in the world have you been?" Without even giving Bella a chance to say anything, Angela continued on. "I've been so worried about you! Here," she said as she closed the door, "let's go to the living room where we can sit down and talk for a few minutes."
Angela started walking down the hallway and Bella followed her immediately. Edward seemed a little reluctant to be there but she needed him, so she grabbed his hand again and pulled him along with her. When they got to the living room, Angela sat in a blue reclining chair and Bella led Edward to the loveseat. She gestured for him to sit and once he did, she climbed into his lap and snuggled up to him. He immediately brought his arms up and enfolded her waist as if it were second nature to him. It felt so damn good to have her fiancé this close to her.
"So…" Angela began, talking to her. "You said you wanted to talk but also that it needed to be in person. What's up?" She eyed the two of them carefully, apparently trying to get some sort of clue as to what was going on.
Bella didn't say anything for a minute because she was looking for a good place to start. She decided to just jump right in. "Well," she asked, "what exactly have you heard about why I haven't been in school?"
Angela was quiet for a moment as she thought about it. "Honestly, I haven't really heard anything. Why? What's going on?"
"Alright. I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but Tuesday was my eighteenth birthday," she said as she smiled at Angela.
"No! You didn't mention it. Happy Birthday!" Angela said excitedly. "I can't believe you didn't say anything though."
"I was going to Ang, when we talked about what we discussed in French on Monday, but then I never really got a chance." She knew Edward would be curious as to what she and Angela had talked about, but he didn't interrupt her to ask. "Later that afternoon, I accidentally bumped into that new kid James. Have you met him yet?" She paused for a moment allowing Angela to answer.
"Yeah, I had a class with him on Monday but I haven't seen him since. He was a total creep anyway," Angela stated, visibly cringing.
Bella chuckled humorlessly before she spoke again. "You don't have to tell me twice Ang. When I bumped into him he dropped his books. I bent to pick them up and hand them to him but he grabbed my wrist instead and yanked me up against his body. He was so crude when he called me sexy and told me I would run into him any time I wanted. It was really disgusting." She felt herself shudder in Edward's arms, causing him to tighten his grip on her, and kiss her shoulder in reassurance.
"So what happened?" Angela asked.
She glanced up at her prince charming and smiled her beautiful smile. "Edward came to my rescue. He told James to get his hands off me. James tried to play it off like he was just keeping me from falling, but he didn't know Edward had seen the whole thing. He told James that if he laid a hand on me again he'd have to answer to him."
Edward returned her smile and kissed her softly on the lips before she continued. While she was talking, he would place kisses on her neck, her shoulder, behind her ear; pretty much anywhere he could reach without letter her go. It was a little distracting, but she wasn't going to interrupt him because it felt so good when he did that.
"Anyway, my dad and I went to Edward's house for dinner on Monday night as an early birthday celebration. He and Edward's dad have been best friends for longer than I've been alive and when Edward mentioned our relationship to them, his mother had basically insisted on it.
"Everything was perfect until my dad and I got home. When we pulled up, he discovered that someone had broken into our house and destroyed practically everything in it. My room was by far the worst. I didn't actually see it, but according to what I heard there was a slaughtered wolf lying on my bed and its blood was smeared all over everything. I stayed at Edward's while our dads worked on cleaning it all up."
She took a breath causing her to pause in her story. That pause gave Angela an opening so she took it. "Oh my god! That's disgusting! Did your dad find out who did it?"
Bella looked back at Edward before she continued. He gave her another squeeze, silently assuring her that he wasn't going anywhere. "The crime scene guy fingerprinted the whole place. He took Edward's and my prints to rule out and ran everything. There was one set of prints that didn't belong to any of us but did come back with a match. It was James. He had a criminal record in LA before he moved here; that's why his prints were in the system."
Angela audibly gasped and covered her gaping mouth. "Oh my god Bella. I'm so sorry! Did your dad arrest him?" she asked. She seemed truly upset about what happened and Bella knew then that her decision was the right one.
"Well he tried, but James is missing. No one knows where he is; not even his mom according to her. No one really knows whether or not to believe her though because when they got there, she was high as a kite." She couldn't help but chuckle a little at her description. She could feel Edward laughing as well but he still had yet to say a word.
"My dad decided that his time would be better served at the station to help find James, so he asked Edward to protect me. It was obvious that he wanted to do it himself, but that he also knew Edward was more than capable. When he asked Edward if he would do it, Edward took the opportunity to ask him a question. He asked my dad for permission to marry me!" She practically screamed the last part because she was so excited.
"Oh Bella, I'm so happy for you!" Angela had jumped up from her seat and threw her arms around both she and Edward. Bella couldn't help but smile as she felt Edward chuckle underneath her. "So," Angela started, "when do you think you'll get married? This summer maybe?"
Bella was a little worried about what her friend would think when she told her they were actually planning to have the wedding on Friday. Would she think it was too soon? "Um, actually, because of everything going on and the fact that neither of us can stand to be away from each other," she began as she braced herself for Angela's reaction, "we were actually planning on having the ceremony on Friday. As in two days from now."
She held her breath and waited as she let this new information sink in with Angela. She still wanted nothing more than to have Angela be her maid of honor, but she was really nervous all of a sudden. Was this the right way to tell her she was getting married? Should she have come alone? Would that have made the news any easier to take?
She felt Edward's arms squeeze her stomach so she turned her head slightly to see him looking at her. He smiled that crooked smile at her that always made her weak in the knees and she was really happy she was sitting down. He was trying to reassure her that everything would be okay without actually speaking. This was her friend and he was going to let her handle it.
Finally, just when Bella didn't think she could handle the silence any longer, Angela finally spoke, her voice think with emotion. "Oh Bella! I don't really know what to say. I think it's amazing that you and Edward have found each other. You're an incredible person and you deserve nothing but a life full of love and happiness. Congratulations!" she added as she wiped a tear from her eye.
Bella hadn't noticed the tears falling down her own face until Edward lifted a hand to wipe one away from her cheek. She smiled at him, thanking him with her eyes alone, before turning to face Angela again. "Thank you Ang. That means so much to me! We didn't just come over here to share the news though. I actually had a question I wanted to ask you."
She paused for a moment until she was sure she had Angela's undivided attention. "Ang, it's because of you that I was able to meet Edward and start this incredible relationship with him. I feel its only right to ask you if you would do me the honor of being my maid of honor. I owe so much to you that I'll never be able to repay, but I really want to try. Will you stand beside me as I marry the man of my dreams?"
Tears were falling down Angela's cheeks faster than before. She seemed truly moved by Bella's words to her and the emotion was evident in her voice as she responded. "Oh Bella, you don't owe me anything. I did what any true friend would do in that situation. I would, however, be thrilled to be your maid of honor. Tell me what you need me to do and I'd be happy do it!"
Bella stood up from Edward's lap and embraced her friend tightly. "Thank you Angela. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
…..
Edward smiled to himself, thinking that Bella would be his wife in just over forty-eight hours. So much had happened in the last few weeks, but he never imagined he'd find himself where he was today. He was truly happy for the first time since his parents died. Bella filled a place in his heart that he never thought would be filled again.
Angela had agreed to be her maid of honor and they had set a plan to go to Port Angeles the following afternoon to shop for dresses. Edward had decided that it would be the perfect time to get fitted for a tux as well. Bella had said that he could wear a suit if that's what he wanted, but he felt that she deserved better and had told her so. It was agreed that since he would be with them tomorrow afternoon anyway, he might as well visit a tux shop as well.
Another plus from talking to Angela was that she brought up the fact that her dad was a pastor. That was one thing that he and Bella hadn't discussed yet. They did need someone to marry them and it only seemed right to ask Mr. Webber to do so. Angela had called him into the living room and they all sat and talked for about an hour.
Mr. Webber said he would be happy to perform the ceremony, but that he wanted to meet with the two of them at his church tomorrow before they went to Port Angeles. When Bella mentioned that neither of them would be in school, he suggested they meet at ten.
All the pieces were falling into place effortlessly. They had the date set as well as the location. Mr. Webber agreed to officiate. They were going to shop for clothes tomorrow afternoon. The main thing left for him to do was to talk to his family. Carlisle already knew everything but Edward was sure he wouldn't say anything to anyone. He would leave that up to Edward to do because it was his news to share.
The one thing he wanted to do before he told Esme, Alice, and Jasper was to call Emmett. Out of all the people in his family, it was Emmett he felt the closest to. It was Emmett he wanted standing right beside him when he married his beautiful Bella.
He realized that he had encouraged Bella to ask Angela in person, but it was a little harder with Emmett. He and Rosalie were in Seattle, away at college, so it wasn't a matter of hopping in the car and taking a ten-minute ride to their apartment. It would take about four hours each way and that was time they didn't have, so he decided to ask Emmett over the phone.
Bella was sitting beside him in his car, lightly tracing patterns on the bare skin of his forearm. They had left Angela's house ten minutes before. Edward drove for a few miles and then pulled off onto a scarcely used road so he could make the phone call. He dialed Emmett's cell number and put it on speakerphone so she could hear the whole conversation as well. It rang three times and Edward was afraid it was going to go to voicemail when Emmett finally answered.
"Hey Bro! What's up?" boomed the loud, slightly obnoxious voice he missed so much.
"Hey Em. Am I interrupting anything?" he asked. He hadn't even considered the fact that his brother might have been in class when he called.
He heard his brother chuckling on the other end of the line right before he answered. "No, man. Rosie and I were just um… studying." The next thing he heard was a distinct slapping sound and he pictured Rosalie smacking Emmett's arm because of his response. "Ow! What the hell was that for Babe?" he heard Emmett ask.
They heard a faint female voice mumble something and then Emmett's voice came on the line again. "Okay, okay! I'll put it on speaker. Eddie, you're on speaker with me and Rosie. What's going on? Is everyone okay?"
Edward smiled to himself. This was the reason he wanted Emmett to be his best man. He was always so concerned about everyone else. It didn't matter what was going on in his life; if something happened to any one of his family members, he was the first to drop everything and offer to help in any way he could. Sure, he may have been the biggest smartass the world had seen, but it only added to his charm.
"Hey Rosie. Relax Em; everyone is fine. I actually have you on speakerphone as well. Bella is here with me and we have some news to share. I know you were planning a trip down this weekend, but can you guys get outta class for the next two days and come down earlier?" He was deliberately being vague, knowing the suspense would have to be killing Emmett. He never really cared for surprises.
It was Rosalie who spoke up first though. "Eddie, what the hell is going on? We were just there this last weekend. What's so important that we need to miss two days of class to come back early?" He expected this kind of reaction from her; she had always been the bitch of the family. Rosalie and Emmett were polar opposites when it came to personality, but they were perfect for each other. He still didn't have a clue as to how Emmett put up with her crap, but she made him happy and that's what counted the most.
He didn't take offense to her words, but he was a little brusque with his reply. "Oh, I don't know Rosie. For some strange reason I thought you and Emmett might want to come down for my wedding." He put a little more bite into his comment than he had planned, but he wasn't at all shocked to hear two sharp intakes of breath.
It was Emmett who was the first to collect himself. "Are you serious Eddie, or is this some sort of prank?" he asked, sounding somewhat incredulous.
"Em, I'm as serious as a heart attack. Bella and I are getting married on Friday and I want you to be my best man." He was about to tell fill them in on what had happened in the last few days, but Rosalie interrupted.
"What the hell, Edward? You've known her for what, a week? Did you tell her about the life insurance settlement you got after the accident or what? That's the only reason any sane eighteen-year-old girl would want to get married."
Edward heard Bella gasp and quickly met her eyes. He saw hurt written all over her beautiful face and it pissed him off like no other. "You know what Rosalie? Fuck You! How dare you say that about my fiancé! For your information, no: she knew nothing about that policy until just now when you opened your fucking big mouth. She agreed to marry me because she loves me. Believe it or not, some people get married because they love each other. Not everyone has ulterior motives."
He hadn't taken his eyes off of Bella and it broke his heart when he saw the tears fall from her eyes. What Rosalie said really hurt her and Edward was livid. He wanted to talk to Emmett alone, but he needed to make things right with Bella first. "Em, I'll call you back in a few minutes," he said quickly. Without waiting for a response, he hung up the phone and tossed it on the dash.
He shifted in his seat so he was fully facing Bella. He brought both hands up to her face, placing one gently on each of her cheeks as he used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "Baby, please don't cry. Rosalie is being a bitch but she means well." He knew he had to explain what had just happened but it was something he hoped they wouldn't have to talk about until after they were legally married.
Still, he took a deep breath and dove into the conversation headfirst. "Bella, my parents had always been very responsible people. When they had me, they each signed up for a life insurance policy so that if anything ever happened to one of them, I would be well taken care of. They were each other's beneficiaries, but I was listed as a secondary on both policies. After the accident and an investigation, I was awarded both policies."
He took a deep calming breath before continuing. "Bella, the policies were five hundred thousand dollars each. I felt so much guilt over everything that happened, that I put the money in an account and never touched it. For the last two years, it's been accruing obscene amounts of interest. That's what Rosalie was talking about. She has a sick way of showing it, but she loves me and is trying to look out for me."
He paused for a moment waiting for her to speak. When she didn't say anything, he started to panic. "Baby, please say something; anything! I can't stand not knowing what you're thinking. I love you so much, Bella." Without giving her the opportunity to speak, he closed the distance between them, crashing his lips against hers. He was desperate to show her that he loved her. He needed her to know that he didn't give a shit about what Rosalie said; that he knew Bella was marrying him because they were made for each other, not because he had money.
It only took Bella a second to respond to his urgent kisses. Her lips started moving with his and she finally parted them, allowing him access to her glorious tongue. His hand fumbled for the seat lever and he quickly pushed himself as far back as he could go, pulling Bella onto his lap so she was straddling him.
His hands moved to lift her shirt over her head and then he was kissing her again as he reached behind her to unclasp her bra. He could feel his pants get tighter as his erection strained against the denim, desperate for release. He needed Bella like he needed air to breathe and he knew she needed him the same way.
He was reaching for the button on her jeans and was about to free her of them when his phone rang from the dashboard. He had expected Emmett to call back right away, but the ring sounding from his phone didn't belong to Emmett, it belongs to Esme.
Knowing Emmett probably called her and caused her to freak out, he said, "I'm sorry, Beautiful, that's my mom's ringtone. I should probably answer it." With a heavy sigh, he reached for his phone.
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