Chapter Sixteen – (cooking)
EPOV
There's a loud, annoying buzzing noise ringing in my ear. What time is it? I think to myself. I groan, rubbing my eyes before I look at my radio clock on my bedside table and notice that it's 11:30 am. My phone turns out to be the culprit— it's Bella.
"Hey, beautiful," I greet her, my voice still thick with sleep.
"Don't tell me you only just woke up," she says with amusement in her voice.
"No, I didn't," I lie.
"Of course you didn't," she says through a chuckle before adding, "I'm about to leave in a few minutes, I'll be over before lunch."
"Okay. Hey, are you all right?" I ask her.
"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"You just sound different. Like something's bothering you."
"How can you tell something like that over the phone?" she asks.
"I don't know. I just can," I tell her confidently.
She sighs into the phone. "I'm fine, Edward."
"Okay, just checking."
"Mmmm, well I should probably go now. I'll see you soon."
"Okay."
She hangs up, leaving me with a smile on my face. I drag myself out of bed to have a shower. The hot water feels great on my muscles and always helps me wake up properly. Once I feel clean and alert, I get out and get dressed in black jeans and a plain white T.
I go downstairs and head into the kitchen. It's nearly lunch time, and Bella and Esme are clearly going to cook up a feast for it, so I just poor a glass of milk and pull out the grapes from the fridge. Once I have my bowl of grapes, I head into the living room. Emmett, Rose, Jazz and Ali are all lounging around, chatting with the TV on in the background. I sit down on the floor next to Alice, and she smiles before stealing a grape from me.
"Where are my grapes, you selfish prick?" Emmett says with a smirk on his face.
"I'm not your slave. Get your own food you disgusting pig," I scold him
"Not cool, man."
"Whatever. Don't be such a pussy." He narrows his eyes at me before throwing a pillow at my face.
"For fuck sakes, Em, I have a bowl of grapes here!"
"Serves you right for being so greedy, asshole." He says before smirking at me so hard, I'm surprised his face hasn't cracked. I give him the bird and throw a grape at him. The dickhead sees this coming and catches it in his mouth.
"Fucking pig," I mumble.
"So, how's Bella?" Alice asks out of nowhere. I give her a confused expression. She shrugs her shoulders before adding, "I came upstairs to wake you up this morning, but you were already awake and on the phone to her. I overheard you say that she sounded like something was bothering her." She gives me an apologetic smile causing me to roll my eyes at her.
"Jesus Christ, Ali. I don't know. She said she was fine,"
"Fair enough," she says through a sigh.
"We're all worried about her, Edward. Carlisle told us what you were talking about before I interrupted yesterday," says Rosalie.
"Yeah, well. Carlisle had no right to bombard her with questions like that. She was completely embarrassed. He could have asked to speak to her privately or something. I mean, none of that shit is any of our business unless she tells us herself. And we can't force her to tell us what's bothering her, can we? And I sure as hell won't push her to tell me what's wrong either," I rant in an annoyed voice.
"Just trying to look out for her, mate," Jazz adds.
There's a knock at the door; we all know who it is. Esme meets Bella at the door. Bella looks into the living room and smiles at me before walking over to us.
"Hey," she greets us.
Emmett grins at her, Rose waves at her enthusiastically, Alice squeals "Hi, Bella!" and Jazz gives her a light smile.
"What's up, you wanna chill out with us for a bit?" Rose asks.
"Oh, no. None of that. Today is Bella and my bonding time."
"Jeez, Esme, can you get anymore controlling?" Emmett jokes.
"Excuse me, young man, but Bella and I organized this last night thank you very much. Now if you don't mind, we have some cooking to do."
I take a hold of Bella's wrist and pull her down towards me. I plant a soft kiss on her lips before Esme takes her hand in hers and leads her into the kitchen. I get up and follow them. I walk over to Bella and kiss her on the cheek before washing my bowl and putting it in the dish rack.
"What are you doing in here? This is my and Bella's time, get out of the kitchen," Esme scolds me.
"Calm down, Esme, I'm just coming to see my girl."
At that moment Carlisle walks into the kitchen.
"Your girl, Edward? So you're official now?"
I roll my eyes at his obvious amusement. "Not that it's any of your damn business, but yes."
"Oh! I'm so happy for the two of you!" Esme exclaims excitedly.
"Uhh, thanks," Bella replies, a blush covering her cheeks.
"Aw, look at you getting all embarrassed and shit," I tease her.
"Edward! Do you always have to swear?" she asks, shock lacing her voice.
"Don't act like you don't like my dirty mouth, Bella." I wink at her, causing her to blush deeper. She bites her bottom lip before a small smile forms on her face.
"Edward! Get out. Now," Esme says frustrated.
"No, no, alright, I promise to be good."
"Mmmhhhm, of course you do," Bella says, quirking her brow at me.
Esme begins to get everything ready, pulling different things out of all the cupboards. I always thought I was an alright cook because of Esme's teaching, but her cooking is amazing. And what I've tasted of Bella's cooking, she isn't too bad herself. I sit back and relax, watching them do their thing while they chat.
"Did you get home alright last night, Bella?" Esme asks her.
"Yeah. I had the Ravioli you gave me for dinner, actually. It was still as good as it was last week."
"That's a great thing about freezers. They keep food good for a long time." She smiles at Bella as she pats her shoulder.
"Did you seriously just swoon over a freezer, Mom?" I ask her playfully. She rolls her eyes at me and gives me a pointed look. I run my finger across my mouth, indicating that I'm zipping my lips.
Everything is going great, that is until Esme brings up Bella's mom again.
"Esme…" I cut her off.
"What Edward? Why do you always do that?" she asks in a frustrated tone.
"She hasn't seen her mother since she was twelve, so stop bringing her up in conversations for Christ sake!" I say, my voice raising an octave.
"Edward, don't talk to your mother that way," Carlisle says in a firm voice. Why does he always have to come strolling in at the wrong time?
"Well, shit. Sorry for trying to make her life easier."
"Edward… Just leave it alone. Don't fight with your parents because of me," Bella says in a panicked voice. I cup her face in my hand. She leans into the touch, looking into my eyes.
"We aren't fighting baby, just having a heated conversation," I assure her quietly.
"Well just, don't," she says firmly.
"Alright. Shit, don't get all angry tiger over it."
"Angry tiger. Really, Edward?" she says quirking her brow at me.
"I'm really sorry, honey, I didn't know," Esme apologizes.
"It's alright, Esme, I just don't like talking about my mother. It isn't your fault, like you said. You didn't know," Bella replies in a soft voice.
"Alright, well let's get this show on the road," Esme says excitedly as she rubs her hands together.
"What are we cooking?" Bella asks.
"Anything you want!" I exclaim.
"Edward, get out of the kitchen, you're going to be a distraction," Esme whines.
"Bella likes my distractions, don't you baby?" She laughs and shakes her head at me.
"Do you want a kiss? C'mon, cook, I'll give you a kiss." I pout my lips and close the distance between us. She laughs, trying to wriggle out of the trap.
"I think Esme's right. You're going to be a too big of a distraction. Out you go."
She begins to push me out of the kitchen. I spin around and peck her on the lips before saying, "You can't escape me, baby, I'm faster than the flash!"
I run out of the kitchen. When I take a glance back at her, she's holding her fingers to her mouth with a small smile on her lips. I smile to myself as I walk back into the living room. I watch TV with the rest of the gang for about an hour before Bella comes out.
"Hey." she smiles at everyone else before saying, "Um, lunch is ready."
"Yes! I'm starving!" Emmett hollers as he gets up. He high fives Bella when he walks past her. She laughs to herself.
I get up off the floor and walk into the dining room. I pull out Bella's chair for her before sitting down myself. Esme and Bella have gone all out. There are homemade bread rolls, a Caesar salad, chicken breast, ham and homemade salad dressings. Everyone digs in.
"So do you all like it?" Esme asks us.
"This is amazing. You are such a good cook, Mom."
"Yeah, Mom this salad is really good," Alice adds.
"Bella actually made that salad," Esme corrects them.
"It's seriously really good, Bella. Good job," Rosalie approves.
"Thanks," Bella replies with a small smile on her face.
Once we all finish eating lunch, Bella and I and the others go up to my room to watch a movie. Halfway through the movie, the others leave. Bella snuggles closer to me and rests her head on my chest. It begins to get late. When I look at my radio clock, it says its 10:30 pm.
"Hey, do you want to stay the night?"
"Will Alice be okay with that? It's kind of last minute," She asks uncertainly.
"No, I meant in here. With me."
Bella sits up so fast she almost falls off the bed, I take hold of her arms to steady her and the panic in her eyes hits me straight through the chest.
"With you? In the same bed?" she asks once she's composed herself.
"Yeah. I mean, nothing's going to happen unless you want it too."
"Oh." She breathes a sigh of relief.
"Well, you can stay in Alice's room if you want to," I say quietly. Trying to keep my disappointment out of my voice. She takes my face in her hands and kisses me on the lips. That's meant to be something I do. I have never felt like such a pussy in my life than in this moment.
"No, it's okay. Sorry for freaking out." She smiles sheepishly at me before climbing into my lap. I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her on the cheek.
"You know I'd never force you to do anything, right? I'm not like that."
"No, I know. I'm just um, not used to the whole having a boyfriend thing," She says nervously.
When she looks into my eyes, I can see the vulnerability in them. I give her a reassuring smile before taking her hand in mine and entwining our fingers together. I raise her hand to my face, pressing my lips into her palm.
"You're so sweet." I laugh quietly to myself at her statement. Only Bella would say something like that to me.
"Hmm, that's new. Everyone else thinks I'm an asshole."
"That's because they don't know the real you and don't understand you. The way you treat me… I haven't been treated this kindly in a long time. No one who treats me the way you do could be an asshole," She says matter-of -factly. She places her index and middle finger under my chin, lifting it slightly. She presses her lips to mine. I smile against her lips.
"I need to call Charlie, to let him know I'm staying the night." Her facial features turn into a sour expression at the mention of her father's name.
"Will he be angry?" I ask her anxiously.
"Too bad if he is. I'm seventeen, he can't control me."
She grabs her phone of my bedside table and dials his number. She climbs back into my lap as she waits for him to answer.
"Hi, it's me. Just letting you know I'm staying at Edward's tonight." I watch her carefully as her jaw becomes rigid. He's clearly being difficult again.
"No, I'm staying in Edward's room actually." My eyes go wide, but when she looks at me, she gives me a reassuring smile before sighing heavily into the phone.
"Nothing is going to happen, Charlie. I can look after myself. Not that it concerns you, anyway." She rolls her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose.
"You lost your right as my father when you became a drunk. Goodbye, Charlie," she declares firmly before hanging up on him and adding, "He's so frustrating sometimes!"
"Yes. Well, that was certainly interesting." I feel my lips turn up into a smirk. "Anyway, I should probably find you something to wear for bed. Unless you want to wear one of the girl's clothes," I add.
"To be honest, I prefer wearing baggy clothes to bed."
A blush creeps into her cheeks and she bites her bottom lip as she realizes what she's just said. I laugh quietly, causing her to narrow her eyes at me. She slides off of me so I can get up and raid my closest. I find an old Linkin Park band shirt and a pair of black football shorts for her to wear. She takes them out of my hands and sits on the bed as I head into the bathroom to have a shower. I make it quick, and when she walks past me into the bathroom, I kiss her on the cheek. I go and lay on my bed while she showers.
As soon as she walks out of the bathroom door, she takes my breath away. She makes an old Band T-shirt and football shorts look absolutely gorgeous. I smirk at her as she closes the distance between us and crawls into bed. I wrap my arm around her as she snuggles in close to me, draping her arm across my stomach and laying her head on my chest. I kiss her on the top of her head and feel her sigh contently. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. She still smells like strawberries.
"Edward?" she addresses me in a quiet voice
"Yeah?" I reply.
"Why did you choose me?"
"What do you mean?" I ask her confused.
"Well you were like the shiny new toy. Everybody wanted you. You could have had anyone you wanted."
"And I wanted you," I tell her confidently.
"But why?" she asks anxiously.
"Bella, why are you talking like this? Are you sure nothings wrong?"
"No, I'm fine. I don't know, I told you before. I'm just not used to this."
I take a minute to think about what she's saying before I answer her.
"You were the first girl I met. When I saw you mumbling to yourself and having a personal hissy fit when you fell on that patch of ice, I just thought it was so cute. You looked so defeated, though–"
"So you like me out of pity?" She cuts me off in a disappointed voice. I sigh heavily and groan.
"No, Bella. I'm saying that something about you just pulled me in. You aren't like anyone I've ever met. All the girls who have ever showed they're interested in me were always so shallow. They only want me because of my looks. There's something about you that's just so raw and real. It's like when I look at you I can see into your soul. When I walked over to help you, you didn't act all giddy and flirty with me. You just treated me like a normal human being." I lift her chin up towards me and wait for her to look me in the eyes before adding, "So that's why I chose you. Also the fact that you are the most beautiful girl with the most captivating eyes I have ever seen."
She nods her head and smiles sheepishly at me and says, "Okay" so quietly, I'm not one hundred percent certain she said it.
"Bella. If something was bothering you, you would tell me right?" i ask her.
"Of course i would," she replies.
"But something is bothering you, isn't it?" i ask her again.
"Edward. I'm fine,"
"Every time a woman says she's fine, usually means she isn't, Bella." she looks up at me, eyes glazed over with un shed tears. "You know i wont ever force you to talk to me if you don't want too. But i just want you to know I'm always here for you, no matter what. Okay?" she blinks. A tear falling down her face. I wipe it away with my thumb before leaning down and kissing her cheek.
"Thank you. I don't want to keep things from you, i just. I'm not ready to talk about what's wrong yet. I'm happy right now. I'm happy when I'm with you, Edward. And i don't want to bring down my mood when I'm with you," she confesses, her eyes pleading for me to accept that as her answer.
"Okay," i reply.
I smile at her softly. She smiles back, before a yawn overtakes her. A chuckle escapes my lips at her embarrassed expression.
"Go to sleep, Baby," i whisper.
She nestles in closer to me, sighing contently before closing her eyes again. I play with her hair and place light kisses on her forehead as I watch her fall asleep quickly.
I really don't understand how insecure she can be. How can she not see how amazing she is? I know she doesn't like talking about her past, but I really wish she would. I want to understand why she feels the way she does sometimes. I hate seeing her so unsure of herself. And Charlie sure as hell doesn't help things. If your own flesh and blood can say the most horrible things to you, bringing your spirit down to the extent that you honestly believe you aren't worth anyone's time, is the most cruel thing family can do to you. And physically harming you of course, I still can't believe he hit her. I swear to god, if he ever hits her again, I will get his ass thrown in jail so fast he won't see it coming.
I take a deep breath to calm myself. After a few minutes, I close my eyes, letting exhaustion overtake me.
The last thing I hear before I fall asleep is Bella mumbling my name.
Hey everyone. Sorry for the late update, i've been super busy writing and i had soccer training yesterday. This chapter is all about exploring Edward and Bella's relationship/feelings. Hit me up with a review to let me know what you think of the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
natalee-x