Chapter 27 – Support

I hated public transportation, but the three and a half hour bus ride with Edward was actually fun. When he wasn't cracking jokes and giving me belly laughs, I had his warm delicious smelling chest to rest against. He seemed to make every situation so much better, and I found myself falling more and more in love with him every moment we spent together.

When we arrived at the Forks' bus station, I clung to Edward's arm and didn't want to let him go…

"You could come with me to the Cullen's place for a while," he said mischievously before kissing my temple. "We could get something to eat… Hang out in my room and take full advantage of the lock on the door."

I smiled. "Mmm, I'd love to, but it's going to have to wait. My dad will be here soon to take me home and he's going to want to hang out for a bit, so I'll head over there sometime after dinner."

"Are you going to tell him about us today?" he asked with a smirk.

I bit my lower lip. "Maybe…We'll see if I can work you into a conversation."

He chuckled. "Sure…I bet we'll leave here after next week and he still won't know."

"No, I'm going to tell him before we leave for sure, but…just maybe not today. I really don't want to be fighting with him the entire time I'm here."

"Uh huh," he teased.

"No, I will. But you know, you really have no room to talk; have you even told the Cullens about us yet?"

"It hasn't come up, but it's not going to be a huge issue either. Esme will pull me to the side and get all serious, and look me in the eye to make sure I'm being sincere with you, and then she'll hug me and tell me how happy she is because she fucking adores you."

"You may have underestimated their fondness for me; I did hurt you too," I said somberly.

"Oh, just wait," he replied unconcerned.

"If you say so," I said with a smile before grabbing a hand full of his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss. "I'll see you soon then."

He growled playfully. "Not soon enough."

"Nowhere near soon enough," I agreed before kissing him again, and then racing off towards the police cruiser which had just entered the station parking lot. I was slightly worried that Charlie would recognize Edward, but from that distance, and with Edward's shorter hair and facial scruffiness, we were more than likely okay.

"Hey sweetheart!" Charlie said as he parked the car and got out to greet me. "I've missed you like hell."

"I missed you too, dad," I said sincerely while hugging him.

"Did you make a friend?" he asked while gesturing towards Edward, still standing there waiting for Emmett to pick him up. "We can give him a ride if he needs one," he offered, obviously not recognizing him.

"Oh no, he has someone coming for him."

"Alrighty-then, let's get going."

Being back home was almost odd in a way; I never thought I'd feel like a guest there, but that's exactly how it felt. I loved my dad and his house would always be home, but I didn't belong there anymore and I was actually excited by the thought of that. I had grown up since I was there last, and I knew I'd never revert back to that sad, sick, lost, little girl again.

Dad and I went to the diner for dinner, of course, and then we went home and ate ice cream from the tub while watching TV, but then I started itching to see Edward so I pretended to get a text from one of my old friends. "Oh hey dad, would you mind if I went out for a while? I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Sure, of course. I'm actually really happy you've kept in touch with some of your friends from around here. Just gives you another reason to visit home."

"Aww dad, you're all the reason I need," I assured him. "But it'll probably be late, so don't wait up for me," I told him before kissing him on the cheek and grabbing my old truck keys.

"Don't worry about it. I actually took the night shift tonight so I could work while you were sleeping, that way we wouldn't have to waste any visit time with me gone."

"Work? I thought you were retiring?"

"Not till this weekend," he said stubbornly.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight sweetheart… And it's really good to have you home."

"It's good to be home," I told him sincerely.

It was still fairly early in the evening, so I wasn't surprised to see the Cullen house still fully active. The front door was wide open, and there was a huge moving truck in the driveway which looked to be in the process of being unloaded. I felt strange just walking into the house, but the doorbell didn't seem to be working and I wasn't sure where everyone was…

"Hello?" I said while looking around, hoping Edward was nearby and would hear me. I had text him to let him know I was coming, but if he was busy helping his family unpack then he probably never got the message. "Hello?" I said a little louder.

Finally I heard someone coming from the kitchen, but it was Esme, not Edward. She paused when she saw me, and then smiled widely. "Oh Bella," she said emotionally while reaching to embrace me. "I'm so glad you're here. I've been thinking about you quite a bit lately."

"Oh?" I said, unsure if that was a good thing or not.

"Yes, well we moved to Alaska not long after everything happened, so with us back…" She let her sentence trail off, and then she wrapped her arm around me and led me into the sitting room. "Are you hungry? Everyone's scarfing down pizza in the kitchen, I can get you some."

"Oh, no thanks, Mrs. Cullen, I just ate a little while ago."

"Bella, please call me Esme," she said in a light scolding tone.

"Yes, of course, I'm sorry."

"So…How have you been? I was really hoping to get the chance to see you sometime during one of your breaks. How's Arizona treating you?"

"Arizona?" I asked confused.

"Don't you go to ASU?"

"Um, no…I considered it for a short time, but I decided to stay closer to home."

"Oh…Washington State?" she asked slowly.

"Actually SPU," I replied awkwardly. Obviously Edward hadn't told them about us, though I had a feeling it wasn't out of fear the way I put off telling my dad - it looked as though they had been pretty busy the entire day and he probably just never found the time.

"Oh," Esme said, which was immediately followed by a wave of discomfort radiating from her. "Um…you must be aware that Edward attends SPU as well?" she asked carefully.

I bit my lower lip as I tried to think of the best way to respond.

"Yes, she knows I go there," Edward said unexpectedly as he breezed into the room from the kitchen. "Hey, I just checked my phone, sorry," he said to me as he pulled me up and wrapped his arms around my waist before kissing me tenderly.

If his lips didn't feel so good, I probably would have pushed him away out of embarrassment.

Esme cleared her throat. "Uh, please explain to me what's going on," she said, suddenly sounding much less friendly.

Edward pulled back but laced his fingers with mine to stay connected. "What? I told you I had a girlfriend," he said with faux innocence.

"Carlisle!" Esme called towards the kitchen. When he came into the room and saw Edward and me holding hands he seemed to catch on fairly quickly.

"Can I speak to you privately please son?" Carlisle asked Edward firmly. Edward was about to protest, but Carlisle didn't give him a chance; he just grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the room.

When we were alone again, Esme asked me to sit back down and she voiced her concerns - "Bella, I'm really glad you're doing better, but I don't think getting involved with Edward again is what's best for either of you."

"I completely understand why you would think that, but I promise, we're both in a much better place now, and we really are doing amazing together. We've been seeing each other for a while, and we've managed to keep control of everything, and stay focused on school…"

"But is this a real honest relationship now, and will you be able to handle it if it ends badly again?" she asked gently. "Sweetheart, you know we care about you, and I know how difficult it was for you before, but…our main concern in this is Edward. He's our son, and we need to make sure he's okay. I have to tell you, when you went to the hospital…I don't think I've ever seen anyone as upset as he was. At first he tried to pretend like everything was fine, but he was a mess and it just about destroyed him. We were so worried that he'd never recover that we even talked about having him committed into a mental hospital as well…You two hurt each other so deeply, and I just…I don't want to see that happen to either of you again."

It was bittersweet to think about that horrible time, but knowing we came out of it as stronger people made the sweetness overpower the bitter. I took a deep breath. "Neither of us wants to hurt the other again, but that doesn't mean we're at a point where we think it's going to last forever; we're just taking it one day at a time because we both understand that sometimes life gets in the way. We promised each other that no matter what happens, we're not going to let it ruin our lives again…. Mrs. Cullen - Esme, I tried to hurt Edward back then…and I'll regret that for the rest of my life, but we owe it to ourselves to give it one more chance because despite all of the deceit we really did grow to care about each other, and that never left either of us."

"And how is your relationship now?" she asked softly.

"Really good," I told her confidently. "I know this sounds kind of bad, but we're still the same people as before… We still laugh at the same things, and have fun in a lot of the same way, but now it's just all so much better because it's honest and sincere."

"And you're taking it slow?"

I bit my bottom lip. "One day at a time," I told her again, but I couldn't keep the truth bottled up like I intended. "I love him very much…And I really think we belong together – in a normal sane way."

She smiled warmly. "I can see that you love him…and I know he loves you." She paused and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Well, if you are both happy than so am I. We just want what's best for Edward - and I really do hope that it's you because the lord knows I adore you."

She reached out and hugged me tightly. "I want you to know, you can call me anytime you need to talk to someone."

"Thanks, Mrs. – Esme."

We talked a little more about everything, but then Carlisle and Edward returned with the other Cullens following excitedly behind them.

"Bella's back!" Alice squealed. They all seemed to attack me at once, and welcomed me back with hugs and tender words. Even Carlisle embraced me and told me how happy he was to have me there again, which pretty much meant that whatever Edward told him about our relationship was enough to gain his approval. Outside the chaos I vaguely heard Emmett threatening Edward to treat me right, but it was impossible to focus on one thing with the loving loud chatter all around me.

When everyone was finally finished with me, Edward pulled me back to his side where I pretty much stayed for the rest of the evening. The Cullens put off the remainder of their unpacking so we could all hang out together, and we pretty much spent the next few hours laughing and playing catch up. It had been a long time since I had that wonderful feeling of being part of a big extended family, and I didn't realize how much I missed it until then; in fact, the family dynamic was really the only thing I missed from my relationship with Jacob, and I was so grateful Edward and I had the Cullens as an extra means of support.

When it got exceedingly late, each couple retreated to their rooms, and nobody protested when Edward took me to his. At first it felt a little strange that I was allowed to spend the night with him, but Mr. and Mrs. Cullen treated their kids as the adults they were, which was really refreshing and I wondered if my father would ever reach that point with me. Accepting my choice to be with Edward again was going to be a struggle for Charlie, but I was confident that if Edward was steadfast, one day he could finally win him over too...