Chapter Fourteen – (Dinner with the family)

EPOV

The party is still going strong when I get home. Rose, Em, Jazz and Alice are all out on the dance floor. Alice looks up and smiles when she notices me. She excuses herself before walking over to greet me.

"How is she?"

"She was really upset when we got to her house, but she's alright now, I think."

"I hope she's okay. I can't believe Jessica had the nerve to do that."

I run my hands through my hair then rub my eyes as I let out a sigh. When I open my eyes, Alice is looking me up and down.

"What?"

"Where's your jacket?" she asks confused.

"She was cold so I gave it to her." I roll my eyes at her as a grin forms on her face.

"I'm going to bed."

"Now? The party isn't even over yet." I shake my head at her as she pouts her lips at me.

"I'm tired, Alice. I just want to sleep."

"Fine. Be boring then." she pokes her tongue out before spinning around and walking back onto the dance floor.

The sound of a piano playing flows through the house and up to my bedroom. Confused, I get out of bed and walk downstairs. Bella is playing my piano and singing lightly to herself. I sit and watch her for a few minutes before I can't handle the distance any longer. I stand and make my way over to her.

Her lips turn up into a small smile as she slides along the bench to give me room to sit down.

She continues to play and sing as I watch her. I close my eyes, concentrating on the lyrics.

"I see forgiveness, I see the truth,
you love me for who I am, like the stars hold the moon,
right there where they belong,
and I know I'm not alone,"

A strand of hair falls in her face. I tuck it behind her ear before running my hand along the back of her neck as she continues to sing.

"Yeah when my world is falling apart,
when there's no light to break up the dark,"

"That's when I, I… I look at you,"

"When the waves are, flooding the shore,
And I can't, find my way home anymore,
That's when I, I… I look at you."

Even though the song doesn't end there, she stops playing and looks up to me with a small smile on her lips. I don't take my eyes off hers as I place my hand on her cheek. She leans into the touch, closing her eyes. I lean in towards her and place my lips to hers.

I wake with a smile on my face. Best. Dream. Ever. I look over at my radio clock. It's eleven am. No doubt the gang isn't going to wake up for another hour — the party animals. I have a quick shower before getting dressed and texting Bella.

Hey beautiful,
Come over whenever you want,
But don't take too long :P
-E

I head downstairs to grab some breakfast. I go to the kitchen cupboard and pull out the Coco pops. I'm halfway through the cereal when Esme walks into the kitchen.

"Hey, honey. What are you up to today?"

"Just gonna hang out with Bella."

"Oh, that's nice. How is she?" she asks with concern in her voice.

"I think the whole Jessica confrontation was a bit much for her, but I think she's holding up alright."

"Yes, that was a bit uncalled for if I don't say so myself."

I chuckle at my adoptive mother's serious expression. It's amusing when she tries to understand teenagers. She smiles at me softly before saying, "She knows she can stay here anytime, right?"

"Yeah, Alice and I have both told her that. She's fairly independent though."

I smile at her to ease her worries. She's so paternal sometimes.

"Alright, well I better go work on my designs. I'll see you later."

She walks over to me and plants a kiss on my cheek before leaving me in the kitchen and walking up to her study on the second floor.

I flick through the TV channels, trying to find something good to watch. I come across a marathon of Bones. I have never seen anyone so socially challenged like Brennan is in this show. She is freakishly smart though, which is also sexy. I watch the marathon for a few hours before realizing I've left my phone upstairs. I head up to my room. I search my room for my phone, but can't find it anywhere. I look under everything on my desk and eventually find it. I go sit on the edge of my bed as I open the message from Bella.

Haha, okay :)
I'll be over around 12.
See you then.
-B

I look at my radio clock and see that it's ten minutes after twelve. I descend the stairs to hear Bella and Esme talking in the kitchen.

"—He's really sweet, and Alice and Rose are amazing friends."

"I'm glad you're okay then, sweetie."

"Thanks."

Bella looks up as I walk into the kitchen. They're making sandwiches. I smirk at her as I close the distance between us.

"Good timing, I was getting pretty hungry."

She rolls her eyes at me as a laugh escapes her lips. "Hey to you too."

I smile at her before leaning in towards her and planting a soft kiss on her lips.

"Bella you seem really comfortable in the kitchen, do you cook often?"

Bella turns to Esme and smiles at her as she nods her head. "Yeah. I don't know what it is, it just relaxes me."

"Did your mom teach you how to cook?"

Bella bites her bottom lip before she replies, "Uh, yeah, she did."

I look up at Bella from where I'm sitting; she's biting her bottom lip and looks like she's concentrating hard on making the sandwiches.

"Do you cook with her often?" Bella's face pales. I look between Esme and Bella with a confused expression on my face.

"Bella?"

"Oh, sorry. Um, no I don't. My mum doesn't, uh, she doesn't live; Um, can I use the bathroom?"

When she looks at me, I swear I see panic in her eyes for a split second.

"You don't have to ask to use the bathroom, babe."

"I don't know where the bathroom is, babe." she quirks her brow, and looks at me expectantly. My lips turn up into a smirk as I laugh.

"Touché. C'mon, I'll show you where it is." I entwine her hand in wine and lead us out of the kitchen.

"Oh, Bella?" Esme calls.

"Yeah?"

"I'd love for you to cook with me some day."

Bella's cheeks flush and she smiles before looking up to meet Esme's eyes.

"Um, sure. Thanks," she replies in a somewhat shocked voice.

"It's no problem at all, honey."

Bella smiles at Esme before I begin to lead us up the stairs. When we reach my room, I open the door for her. She walks inside and heads straight to my desk. She runs her hand along my CD player and smiles softly to herself as she sees that the Linkin Park CD is in my player. She walks into the bedroom as I go sit on my bed. Once she's done in the bathroom, she heads back over to my bookshelves.

"We have a few things in common," she says before looking over to me. I smile at her as I quirk my brow at her.

"And what are they?"

"Some same interest in books and musicians." She turns back to the bookshelf and strokes the spine of all my books. Once she has finished exploring, she walks to my bed and lays down next to me. I plant a kiss on her forehead and play with her hair. She wraps her leg around mine and rests her arm over my chest, hugging herself closer to me. I stoke her now lightly bruised cheek with the back of my hand softly before leaning down and planting a light kiss to it. She looks up at me, and smiles as a blush covers her cheeks.

"How are you? And I mean honestly?" I ask her quietly as I continue to stroke her hair.

"I'm okay. Your jacket helped me sleep."

I stop stroking her hair and look down at her as a chuckle escapes my lips. "You slept with my jacket?"

"Wow that does sound weird, doesn't it?" She says through a laugh.

"No. That's kind of cute."

I take the opportunity to lean down and kiss her as she looks up at me. She kisses me back softly. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her on top of me. She chuckles as her hands make her way into my hair. I run my tongue along her bottom lip, her lips part at the contact and I dart my tongue into her mouth to deepen the kiss. I roll us over so I'm hovering over her. I place my arms on each side of her on the bed. Her hands travel down my back, finding their way under my shirt. I shiver with pleasure at the skin to skin contact. I don't stop kissing her when we break apart. I kiss along her jaw and collarbone. Her breathing becomes heavy as I place kisses and suck on her neck lightly. I make my way back to her mouth and kiss her soft and quick a few times before placing us in our original positions.

"Well that was fun," she says through a giggle before a yawn overtakes her. "Argh, god. I'm so tired."

I stroke her face and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as I smile down at her.

"Have a nap," I tell her before kissing her temple.

She rests her head on my chest and moves in closer to me before closing her eyes and sighing with content. I continue to play with her hair as she begins to fall asleep. I smile to myself as I watch her. She looks so peaceful while she sleeps. She begins to mumble in her sleep before her words begin to come clearer.

"Mom." she tightens her hold on me.

"I miss you," she sighs.

I watch her intently as a smile forms on her lips.

"Edward," she whispers so quietly I'm not quite sure she even says it.

"Edward," she says more clearly. I smile to myself before planting a kiss on her forehead.

There's a knock on my door. I curse to myself because I don't want to disturb Bella.

"It's open," I say as loudly as I can without waking her. Carlisle walks into my room, eyes widening for a split second as he takes in our presence. He quirks a brow before pulling out my desk chair and sitting on it.

"Sorry to interrupt. I didn't know she was here. How is she from last night?" He asks as he looks over Bella.

"She's doing better. Jessica is a fucking bitch, she deserves a good kick in the face." He quirks his brow at me before shaking his head.

"Will you not use that language, Edward?" He scolds me. I snort and then quirk my brow at him.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask him.

"I just came to say hello and to see how you're doing in school."

"Hi. And I'm doing fine. Don't worry, Carlisle, having a girlfriend won't effect my grades." I smirk at him as he rolls his eyes at me.

"I didn't mean it like that, Edward. I just want to make sure you're settling in okay. But I can see for myself that you're fine." He glances at Bella and then back at me. His lips twitch and I narrow my eyes at him as he stands.

"Right."

"Dinner will be ready in a few hours," He adds with a smirk.

"Well thanks for that," I say as he walks out of my room and closes the door a little too loudly causing Bella to stir. I look down at her as she blinks a few times before smiling at me.

"Who was that?" she asks, her voice thick with sleep.

"Just Carlisle being annoying and parental."

She laughs as she stretches then sits up to lean on her elbows. "Are we in trouble?" she asks with a smirk on her face. I laugh and pull her on top of me, wrapping my arms around her.

"No, he was just checking how I'm doing in school and letting me know dinner will be ready in a few hours."

"Oh, okay."

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" I ask as I twirl a strand of hair around my finger. I look into her eyes and she smiles at me.

"Okay." She leans in and kisses me softly. I can feel the smile on her lips.

Alice and Jasper come into my room to collect us for dinner. Alice is beaming as soon as she sees Bella and I tangled up on the bed together. Jasper just stands there smirking at me, the smug bastard. Bella gets embarrassed as usual, but she seems fine by the time we get downstairs.

Her eyes go wide as she takes in the dining table. Esme has gone all out for some godforsaken reason. There's mashed potato, ravioli, grilled chicken, Caesar salad, mixed vegetables and corn on the cob. I pull out her seat for her, and sit next to her. Alice and Jasper are sitting opposite us. Rosalie is next to Bella while Emmett sits across from her, next to Jasper with Esme and Carlisle at the heads.

"This looks awesome, Mom! Good work, I'm starving!" Emmett exclaims. Rosalie attempts to kick him under the table which only gets a grin out of him when she misses.

Bella laughs quietly at their interaction. I lean in towards her. "What do you want?" I ask her.

"Oh. Um, just the ravioli and mashed potato, please."

I grab her plate and place her food on it. She smiles sheepishly as I hand it back to her. "Thanks," she whispers quietly.

I grab some chicken, mashed potato and ravioli. I take quick glances at Bella to see that she keeps glancing at me as well.

"So how was everyone's day?" Esme pipes up conversation.

"Yeah, Eddie. How was your day locked up in your room?"

Bella's eyes go wide before she chokes on whatever she was eating and gulps down her water.

"Fuck off, dickhead."

"Language, Edward," Esme scolds me.

"Well we weren't doing anything."

"Just sucking face," Emmett adds whilst waggling his eyebrows. Rosalie attempts another kick at him under the table and doesn't miss this time.

"Ah, fuck! Rose!"

"Serves you right, Emmett. Don't be so rude," Alice chimes in.

"You guys are such party poopers." He folds his arms across his chest and pouts his lips. What a fucking girl. A phone begins to go off, but it's not a ring tone I'm familiar with. Bella looks around quickly before cussing to herself lightly and grabbing it out of her pocket. She looks at the screen and groans before looking back up.

"Sorry, I need to take this."

"That's okay, honey," Esme says as she smiles at her. Bella smiles back before getting up and walking over to the stairs. I look at Alice to see that she's looking at Bella very closely.

"So did you all get the 'how are you settling in at school' speech today too?" I ask them. Alice snaps back to attention as Carlisle snickers to himself. Rosalie and Emmett look confused and Jasper rolls his eyes.

"We got that the other day," Alice says quietly as she begins to watch Bella again.

"Alice, stop gawking at her," I scold her.

She leans in closer towards the table and looks me in the eyes. "Something's wrong. I think it's Charlie who called her," she whispers.

"Fucking hell," I groan.

I look back at Bella to see that she's tense and gripping the stair banister tightly as she speaks in fast hushed tones. I can tell she's restraining herself from yelling at him. She sighs before hanging up and walking back over to us. She smiles at me softly, standing in front of me before looking up at Esme.

"I'm really sorry, but is it alright if I head home now?"

"That's fine, honey. Do you want me to pack you up some leftovers?"

Bella smiles and nods her head. "Okay, just the Ravioli will be fine. Thanks Esme."

"I'll go get it ready for you." Esme smiles at Bella before standing up and heading into the kitchen. I grab Bella's hand as I stand up and pull her closer to me. I wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on the top of her head.

"Is everything okay?" I ask her quietly.

"Yeah, he was just annoyed that I didn't leave a note."

"You aren't going home just to cook him dinner are you?"

She laughs quietly and shakes her head. "No. He had pizza at Harry's." She leans her head back and smiles up at me. I press my lips to hers and kiss her until Esme comes back into the room.

"Thanks for dinner, Esme. It was beautiful."

"Oh, you're more than welcome, sweetheart." Esme steps forward and kisses Bella on the cheek before sitting back down at the table. I walk Bella out to her car and lean down to kiss her again before closing the door for her. She waves before driving away.

I head back inside and eat the rest of my dinner. Carlisle starts talking about his day at work, and Esme talks about how far she got with her designs. She says she really enjoyed spending time with Bella and that she's a really sweet girl. Once I've finished dinner, I help clear the table and load the dishwasher. Jasper, Alice, Rose and Emmett all head into the lounge room to watch TV. I kiss Esme on the cheek before heading into the lounge room to let everyone know I'm having an early night. Emmett quirks his brow at me causing me to roll my eyes at him, once again.

I get into the shower and let the hot water relax my muscles. I have so many knots, it's not even funny. Once I feel fresh and clean, I wrap the towel around me before walking into my room and putting on a pair of briefs. I collapse onto my bed and breathe in my pillow. It still smells like Bella. I groan as I wonder how I'm ever going to get to sleep with her scent everywhere. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

I eventually fall asleep with the scent of strawberries filling my senses.

Hey guys. I'm so sorry for the late update. I've been really busy and my head has been all over the place lately. Chapters after this one may start being late as well, a lot has happened over the past few months that i just haven't had the motivation to write. I don't want to force myself to do it either, so hopefully everything gets back to normal soon so i can get back to writing. Thanks to everyone who reviews, it means a lot to me. I love hearing your thoughts and what you have to say about the chapter. Thankyou to Jenndur for Beta'ing this hot mess.

-natalee-x