Chapter Forty - (Graduation Day)
EPOV
Note: Bella's clothes - http:/i44 . tinypic . com/2cxuo39 . jpg
Edward's Clothes - http:/i44 . tinypic . com/291dlid . jpg
I wake up with Bella wrapped in my arms, her leg hitched over mine and her head resting on my chest. I push her hair out of her face and stroke her cheek as I watch her sleep. A few minutes later I feel her smile against me chest as she tightens her hold on me.
"Morning, beautiful," I whisper before kissing her softly on the forehead.
"Mmm," she mumbles sleepily.
"How did you sleep?" I ask.
"Great," she replies, her voice thick with sleep. "You?" she asks.
"Best nights sleep I've had in months," I reply honestly.
"Me too," she says quietly, tilting her head back to look at me. I lean down to kiss her, but she turns her head.
"Morning breath," she mumbles.
"I don't care," I assure her, laughing lightly before tilting her head up to face me again.
I press my lips to hers and kiss her softly. She kisses me back a little more passionately, her hands running up my bare chest and into the back of my hair. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her on top of me. She straddles both of her legs on each side of my waist, removing her hands from my hair and placing them on my chest. I run my hands up her arms and into her hair, placing my right hand on her lower back as I sit up in the bed. She slings her arms around my neck and pulls me closer to her. I glide my tongue along her bottom lip causing her lips to part at the contact. A moan of pleasure escapes both our lips as our tongues connect and I tilt her head back to deepen the kiss.
I run my hands through the front of her hair, holding the back of her head after I pull away so we can catch our breath. I kiss her lightly on the temple, cheek, jaw and neck. She tilts her head back as my lips ghost softly across her collar bone.
"Edward," she addresses me breathlessly.
"Mmm?" I hum incoherently.
"Are we going to?" she asks hesitantly, causing me to pull away from her abruptly.
"What?"
"Oh," she says disappointedly. "I guess not," she murmurs.
"Not yet, baby."
"When?"
"I don't know."
She lets out a heavy sigh before smiling sheepishly at me. "Sorry," she mumbles, causing me to chuckle lightly.
"For what?" I ask amused.
"I feel like I'm constantly trying to seduce you."
"You don't have to try that hard."
"Clearly I do, because you haven't given in yet," she jokes.
"Only because I want it to be perfect for you.
"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that you're all I need for it to be perfect," she says softly.
"I know you think that now, but I'm not gonna take that chance."
She smiles softly before running her hands into the back of my hair. "I love you," she whispers, kissing me lightly on the lips.
"I love you too," I reply, smiling softly at her. "Do you want to head over to my house before the graduation ceremony?"
"Oh, I forgot about that."
"I know, I can't believe they're graduating. I'll finally get to hang out with Jasper again," I reply, chuckling lightly.
"What about Emmett?" she asks curiously. "Actually, I guess he'll be too busy catching up with Rose," she adds thoughtfully.
"I'm staying here during that time," I say seriously. "I do not need to hear their reunion."
"You can come over here anytime you want," she says mischievously.
"Good things come to those who wait, baby."
"Hey, don't go stealing my lines," she scolds teasingly, her lips turning up into a playful smile. I roll my eyes before returning her smiles and pecking her lightly on the lips.
"Come on, we better head over soon," I tell her, playfully smacking her on her ass.
"You're no fun," she says, pouting her lips before climbing off me and walking into her bathroom.
I bought a pair of spare clothes over yesterday, just in case I did end up staying the night. So while Bella is in the shower, I change into my white button down shirt, black jeans and black leather jacket. Bella doesn't take as long as Rose and Alice do in the shower, so I hear the faucet turn off after ten minutes.
I wander around Bella's room as I wait for her to get changed. I feel my lips turn up into a smile when I notice a few framed photographs of Bella and Jessica from when they were younger. There are a few of Bella, Alice and Rosalie. There's one on her bookshelf, from when she was in California. She stands in between Tanya and brunette haired girl with three guys on the right hand side. I'll have to ask her who they are. As I roam around the rest of her room, I find a photo on her desk of me and her from the open Mic night. We're curled up on the couch together, gazing into each other's eyes with small smiles on our faces. I don't remember that being taken, so Alice must of taken it and then given it to her.
I turn around as I hear the bathroom door open. Bella steps out in a medium length ice blue dress with black gladiator styled heels with a pair of black hoop earrings. My eyes roam her body, taking in every beautiful inch of her. She smiles sheepishly at me, taking her bottom lip into her mouth.
"What do you think?" she asks, spinning around on the spot, her arms situated out in front of her.
"You look stunning," I reply, making my way over to her.
"Are you sure?" she asks, closing the distance between us and wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Yes," I reply seriously.
"It's not too much?" she asks hesitantly.
"You're perfect," I assure her, kissing her softly on the lips. She lets out a sigh of relief before smiling thankfully at me.
"You don't look too bad yourself," she says, stepping out of our embrace to get a better look at me.
"This is nothing."
"True," she ponders. "You look good in everything," she adds.
"You're silly."
"I'm telling the truth," she says seriously. "Although, I don't know why you always wear button up shirts. They're so much more difficult to take off."
I chuckle lightly, shaking my head in amusement. "You're extremely amusing."
"I wasn't trying to be funny," she says earnestly.
"That's why it's funny," I tell her, causing her to roll my eyes. "Come on, love, we better go," I add, entwining my hand with hers and leading her out of her room.
Everyone is in the lounge room when we arrive at my house. Bella and I walk in hand in hand, causing Jasper and Carlisle's eyes to widen in shock for a split second before they compose themselves.
"Hey everyone," Bella greets them kindly.
"Hey, Bella," they reply simultaneously.
"I see my fashion sense is finally starting to rub off on you," Alice says cheerfully.
"That's bound to happen when you're constantly scolding me about the things I wear," Bella retorts.
"You look fine in anything, you don't need to get dressed up," I tell her.
"Yes, Edward. We all know how beautiful she is," Alice says sarcastically. "I never said she doesn't look good in what she wears, she just looks even better when she takes my advice," she adds.
"Whatever, she's not a Barbie doll you can play with," I reply, sitting down on the couch next to Emmett and Rosalie, pulling Bella down onto my lap.
"I don't treat her like a Barbie doll!" Alice exclaims. "I don't. Do I, Bella?" she asks hesitantly.
"Sometimes," Bella replies reluctantly. "But I don't really mind. Just as long as you let me compromise," she adds playfully.
"Of course," Alice says, the tone of her voice indicating that's the most obvious thing in the world.
I chuckle lightly to myself before planting a kiss on Bella's cheek. I glance around the room to see everyone's eyes are on us with smiles on their faces.
Jasper still looks confused.
"Wait, so you two are back together?" Jasper asks confused.
"Yep," I reply, wrapping my arms around Bella's waist.
"Like I said the other day, it's about fucking time," Emmett grumbles.
"Shut up," I reply, narrowing my eyes.
"Wait, you've known for a few days? Why am I only finding out now?" Jasper asks confused, glancing over at Emmett.
"Because you've had your nose stuck in your study notes for the past month and haven't noticed anything," Emmett replies.
"You've been cramming too," Jasper says defensively.
"Yeah, but I didn't revolve my whole life around studying, did I?" Emmett retorts.
"Have I really been that bad?" Jasper asks.
"Yes," Alice says exasperatedly. "Thank god you're finally graduating," she adds.
"That'll be you next year," Jasper tells her.
"Don't remind us," Bella mumbles.
"Anyway," Emmett says. "I was seriously going to punch some sense into you if you didn't stop being a prick to Bella," he adds seriously.
"Jeez. Thanks, Emmett," I reply sarcastically.
"Thank god she finally made you see sense," Emmett teases.
"It was actually Jasper who got me to pull my head out of my ass," I correct him. "No offence, baby," I add, planting a kiss on Bella's temple.
"None taken," she replies quietly, looking up into my eyes with a smile on her face. I lean down and lightly press my lips to hers. I feel her smile against my lips before she kisses me back. Somebody – who sounds like Carlisle – clears their throat, causing us to break apart. The blush rushes into Bella's cheeks as she looks away and smiles sheepishly.
"My Jazzy is a great persuader," Alice says proudly, kissing him on the cheek.
"Yeah, I bet he is," Emmett says, waggling his eyebrows.
"Oh, shut up, Emmett! Get your head out of the gutter," Alice exclaims.
"That's impossible, Alice. You should know that by now," Rosalie snickers.
"Yeah, I've known him for like a month and even I've realized that," Tanya jokes, causing everyone to erupt into laughter.
"We should probably head over to the ceremony. Are you three ready?" says Esme, looking at Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie proudly.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Rose mumbles.
"I cannot wait to get out of that place," Emmett says cheerfully.
"It wasn't that bad," Jasper says.
"I can't believe you guys are graduating. I'm hardly ever going to get to see you now," Bella says sadly.
"Nah, you'll still see us Bella Button," Emmett reassures her.
"Promise?" she asks uncertainly.
"Bella, you're apart of our family. You can't get rid of us now," Rose says kindly, shocking everyone in the room. Well, except Bella because they've become pretty close. Bella rolls her eyes at everyone's reaction.
"Why does it always shock everyone when Rose says something nice?" Bella asks.
"Yeah, why is that?" Rose asks skeptically.
"Because you're always so feisty," Emmett says hesitantly.
"Only because I'm protective!" Rose says defensively.
"You're just a natural bitch, Rose, you can't help it," Jasper says.
"I cannot believe you just said that," she replies, her voice filled with shock.
"Okay, so maybe bitch isn't the right word. But you're my twin sister, I know you," Jasper says. "You can't help it after everything we've been through. You do it to protect yourself and to make sure you don't ever look vulnerable. You'd rather people fear you than pity you."
"Right," Rose murmurs.
"It's not a bad thing, baby," Emmett assures her.
"Whatever," she replies indignantly. "Can we go now?" she asks, standing up from the couch.
Everyone follows her lead and walks out to the front of the house. Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Alice all go in one car, while Esme and Carlisle drive together and Tanya, Bella and I ride in my Volvo.
Every single one of us are completely shocked when we realize Rosalie is the valedictorian. I knew she was smart and dedicated to her education, but I never knew she was that dedicated. She took three extra classes, volunteered at women's shelters for extra credit, she's captain of the softball team, president of the social committee – which is shocking all on it's own because Rosalie is hardly social with anyone and is the most feared person in this school.
It seems a lot of people actually appreciate and respect her, though. Which isn't totally shocking, I guess. I mean, once you get to know her, you learn that she's one of the most protective, passionate, caring human beings on planet earth. Yeah, she can be a nasty ice queen when she wants to be. But at the end of the day, if anyone messes with you, she'll always have your back.
"I guess that explains her taking my Trig class for extra units," Bella whispers to me.
"I never knew she was doing half of this stuff. I knew she was always busy, but I didn't know it was all for this."
"I knew about a few of the things, but I promised her I wouldn't say anything to anyone."
"I don't know why she doesn't let anyone see this side of her."
"It's like Jasper said. She'd rather people fear her than pity her."
"But they wouldn't pity her, they'd respect her," I reply. "She obviously already has a fair few people who respect her if she was voted valedictorian."
"Well, we're a year below her. I guess we don't really see the relationships she has with others in her classes."
"True," I ponder. "I'm really proud of her," I add.
"You should tell her that," she replies, smiling softly at me.
"I fully intend to," I reply, returning her smile. I look back to the front of the stage as Rosalie continues her valedictorian speech.
"I've been through a lot in my life and I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for my family. They've been there for me every step of the way and let me tell you, they've put up with a lot of my bullshit," she smiles softly as everyone erupts into laughter. "A lot of you may only see one side of me, which is 'the ice-queen of bitchness' as my brother, Edward, likes to call me sometimes," she meets my gaze and smiles mischievously. "But there are reasons for that, which I won't get into right now because it isn't the time or place, and it's none of your business anyway," she says jokingly, causing everyone to erupt into laughter again.
"What I'm trying to say is my family is the reason I am who I am today. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for any of them and I'm extremely grateful and blessed, for Carlisle and Esme taking me and my brother, Jasper, into their home when they did. I have no idea where I'd be today without them. My mother is the most caring, compassionate person you will ever meet. My father has always encouraged me with my studies and told me to never give up on my dreams and to always go after something I truly believe in. Which is why I'm standing where I am today." She looks out into the crowd as she turns her piece of paper over and continues her speech.
"I know this speech is supposed to be to my classmates about the future and I've totally gone off track. So I guess I'll end it on this note: the best advice I can give you is to give you the same advice my father gave me. Go after what you want in life because you can do anything if you put your mind to it. And my personal advice for you guys would be to never take anything for granted. This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions, so don't freak out if you make a mistake, you're human; you're going to make mistakes. You're going to get lost when you finally move out of your parent's house and live somewhere new, you're going to change your mind a million times about what you want to do with your life, you're going to fall in and out of love, you're going to look back on certain times in your life and think, 'why then hell did I do that?', you're going to major in stupid subjects that you can't even make a career out of. Sometimes you have to fall to realize what you're reaching for. Obstacles are placed in our life to see if we can handle them and to make sure what we want is worth fighting for. From every wound a scar will resurface. Every scar tells a story, it says "I was intensely wounded, but I survived it." So, just live one day at a time. Make mistakes and change your mind, because one day everything will fall into place for you." She folds her piece of paper up and smiles to the crowd.
Me, Bella, Jessica, Tanya, Esme and Carlisle are the first to get to our feet to cheer and clap for her. Our principal walks back up to the microphone to begin announcing the student's by alphabetical order to come on stage and accept their scrolls.I glance over at Bella and see her eyes welling up with tears as Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett walk on stage – one after another – taking their graduation slips and shaking hands with the principal. She must feel my gaze on her because she looks up at me. A smile forms on her lips as she looks into my eyes. I return the gesture as I cup her cheek in my hand, wiping her tears away with my thumb. She closes her eyes at my touch and breaths in deeply. I take that moment to connect my lips with hers, kissing her softly.
"I love you," I whisper in her ear, planting a kiss on her neck. I pull away when everyone erupts into applause, the graduating students throwing their caps up into the air with elation. She smiles up at me and this time she's the one to initiate the kiss.
"God, do you two ever stop sucking face?" Emmett groans as he makes his way over to us.
"Like you can talk," Bella scoffs, her lips turning up into a grin as she embraces him in a hug. "Congratulations!" she exclaims. Emmett lifts her off the ground and spins her around.
"Thanks, Button," Emmett replies, grinning from ear to ear.
Rosalie and Jasper make their way over to us. Alice runs for Jasper and assaults him with passionate kisses. Jessica and Tanya envelop Rose in a hug and congratulate her. Bella does the same straight afterward, their embrace lasting a little longer as they have a private, hushed conversation.
"We're making up for lost time," I say, returning to our original conversation and stealing another kiss from Bella when she walks back over to me.
"And whose fault was it that you lost that time?" Emmett quips, causing Bella's body to freeze.
"Mine, actually," Bella says awkwardly.
"Nice one, idiot," Rose scolds him, whacking him on the back of the head.
"Shit. Bells, I didn't mean it like that," Emmett says apologetically, rubbing the spot where Rose hit him.
"Think before you speak, buffoon," I complain.
"Hey, you can't talk!" Emmett exclaims.
Bella giggles softly beside me, shaking her head with amusement, a small smile on her lips. "You guys are crazy," she says.
"Do you ever stop bickering?" Carlisle asks exasperatedly.
"Stupid question, Dad," says Rose.
"Honey, why didn't you tell use you were valedictorian?" Esme exclaims, pulling Rose into her arms and hugging her tightly. Rose smiles sheepishly after pulling out of the embrace.
"I only found out yesterday."
"They left it that long?" Carlisle asks surprised.
"Apparently someone was meant to tell me two weeks ago, but they never did," she replies, annoyance clear in her tone.
"Your speech was great," I tell her honestly.
"Really?" she asks hesitantly. "Wasn't too sappy?"
"Nah, it was perfect. Had just the right amount of smartass jokes and sappiness," I joke.
"Like my little remark about you, did you?" she asks playfully.
"You were only speaking the truth," I quip.
"Asshole," she retorts, slapping me on the arm as she laughs lightly.
"Seriously though, Rose, I'm really proud of you." I tell her. "You know I love you no matter what, right?"
Her eyes glaze over with unshed tears as she smiles softly at me. "Thanks, Edward," she says quietly, closing the distance between and wrapping her arms around my neck. "I love you too." she whispers, hugging me tightly.
"We should probably head back to the house," Carlisle says thoughtfully.
"We'll go find Alice and Jasper," Rose says, grabbing Emmett by the arm and leading him away.
"We'll meet you back there," I tell Carlisle, entwining my hand with Bella and walking us back to the car.
"That was really sweet of you," Bella says as I climb into the passenger seat.
"I was just telling her the truth."
"Yeah," she says thoughtfully. "But you guys don't really say things like that to each other, do you?"
"Not really, no,"
"You should." She says softly, the tone of her voice serious.
"Don't worry, I will." I reply honestly, giving her a reassuring smile before entwining her hand with mine and pulling out of the parking lot.
We're all back at the house, sitting in the living room and talking about Rose's speech, what Emmett, Jasper and Rose are going to do now they've finished school, what colleges they've applied for and what they're going to study while they're there.
Rose turns the subject onto Bella, Alice, Jess and I and how next year we're going to be the ones graduating.
"Where are you going to apply to go to college?" Rose asks Bella.
"Oh," she says taken aback. "I'm not really sure; it's way too early to be thinking about that."
"It's never too early to start thinking about your future," Alice says softly. "I'm going to whatever college Jazz decides to go to, though."
"Baby, you can't do that," Jasper says seriously.
"Why not?" Alice exclaims.
"You need to do what's right for you, not just follow where I go because you want to be with me."
"I'll do what I want," she responds determinedly, folding her arms across her chest.
"That's all I want you to do," Jasper says lovingly, pulling her into his side and kissing her softly on the temple.
"Anyway," Rose says. "Bella, have you thought about it at all?"
"Well," she replies hesitantly, glancing up at me.
"Go on," I encourage her.
"I was thinking California," she mumbles.
"So you can be near Kate and Garrett?" Tanya asks softly.
"Yeah," Bella replies just as quietly. "I miss them," she adds sadly.
I smile lovingly at her, pull her closer to me and lean down to kiss her on the cheek. "California sounds great," I whisper.
"Really?" she asks hopefully, yet uncertainly.
"Definitely," I reply honestly. "It'll be nice to spend some time in the sun."
The corners of Bella's mouth begin to twitch at the hint of a smile and before I know it, she's grinning at me. "I love you," she says, leaning up and kissing me on the lips.
"I love you too," I reply, wrapping my arms around her waist and burying my face into the crook of her neck.
"I've missed this," Bella says softly, letting out a content sigh.
"We missed you too, honey," Esme says sweetly. "You're a part of this family now and you've brought another member into this family too," she adds soothingly, causing everyone to glance over at Tanya.
"Who, me?" Tanya asks shocked. "Wow. That's… That's really nice of you," she says sheepishly.
"It's true," Carlisle says. "Any family of Bella's is family to us," he adds compassionately.
"I've missed the feeling of having a family," Bella mumbles.
"Well you don't have to miss it anymore, honey. You've got us till the end now," Esme assures her.
I cup Bella's face in my hands when I see tears well up in her eyes and fall down her face. I wipe them away with my thumbs before leaning down and planting a soft kiss against her lips.
"Alright, who wants some lunch?" asks Esme.
"YES!" Emmett exclaims. "I'm starving!" he adds.
"You're always starving," Rosalie complains.
"I'm a growing man, baby. I needs me my food."
"You are such a tool," I joke, laughing along with everyone.
"I'll come and help," Bella says, getting up off the couch and following Esme into the kitchen.
"I'm glad you and Bella have sorted everything out, son," Carlisle says sincerely after Bella leaves the room.
"Me too," I reply.
"You two seem fairly serious about each other already," Carlisle says.
"Well, I plan on marrying her one day. So if that's the kind of serious you mean, then yeah, I guess we are," I reply honestly.
"Oh, my god, really?" Alice exclaims. "Can I plan it?"
"I haven't even asked her yet, Alice," I reply exasperatedly. "And I won't for a while, we aren't gonna rush into anything."
"Well, I know for sure she'll say yes. She loves you," says Tanya. "And I know she's told you why she left, but she hasn't told you guys what she was like when she was in California," she adds sadly.
"What happened?" I ask hesitantly.
"She was happy, but she wasn't completely there. And then she started regretting leaving and broke down. I've never seen her as happy as I've seen her with all of you. She has a family with you. You know she hasn't had that since she was twelve," she informs.
"Her mom's coming here in a few days, so hopefully she'll have that part of her life sorted out soon," I tell them.
"Really?" Jessica asks shocked. "Bella hasn't mentioned that."
"It probably slipped her mind," Tanya assures her.
"That kind of thing wouldn't slip her mind," Jess murmurs.
"Don't take it personally, honey," Tanya soothes, tucking a strand of Jessica's hair behind her ear.
"She hasn't really had the chance to talk to any of you about it, which is partly my fault."
"Partly," Alice scoffs. "It's your entire fault; you're taking up all her time."
"Jealous much?" I tease.
"Selfish much?" she retorts.
"Who's selfish?" Bella asks as she walks back into the room with a tray of potato bake.
"YUMMM!" Emmett exclaims, jumping out of his chair and running to the table.
"Edward is," Alice says, continuing our conversation.
"Why?" Bella asks, laughing lightly.
"For taking up all your time," Rose says.
"Oh," Bella says softly. "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that."
"You can't help it, babe, you're in love," says Tanya.
"When were you gonna tell us about Renee coming back?" Jessica asks abruptly. Bella's eyes widen in shock for a split second before she composes herself and sits back down next to me.
"I actually forgot about that for a few days to be honest."
"See, I told you it just slipped her mind," Tanya says, poking Jessica in the side of the ribs.
"I was gonna tell you tonight, though," Bella assures Jess. "After dinner."
"Sorry, I kind of just sprung it on them," I tell her, smiling apologetically at her. She smiles softly at me before leaning into my side.
"It's okay, it's not like it was some big secret I didn't want anyone to know."
"Like what you and Eddie get up to in the bedroom?" Emmett asks, waggling his eyebrows.
"Shut up, dickhead," I say, rolling my eyes.
"Not that we even do anything in the bedroom," Bella murmurs under her breath, causing me to laugh hysterically. Bella's cheeks go bright red as everyone looks over at us in bewilderment.
"What's so funny?" Jasper asks.
"Nothing," Bella murmurs.
"Were you speaking dirty under your breath?" Emmett asks skeptically.
"What?" Bella exclaims. "No!" she adds, mortified.
"I love you," I tell her, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. Everyone in the room begins to laugh at her expense, causing her to lay down on the couch and bury her face in my lap.
"Whoa, Bella, not in public!" Emmett booms, laughing hysterically afterwards.
Bella sits up abruptly, her cheeks flushing deeper as she groans in embarrassment, slinging her legs over mine and resting her forehead on my shoulder as she covers her face with her hands.
After Emmett is done tormenting Bella, and we all have our lunch, we all fall back into a comfortable conversation. Jessica and Tanya sit next to Bella and I so Jessica and Bella could talk about Renee retuning to Forks. Jessica was really close with Bella and her mother. When Renee left, it affected Jessica as well, but Bella was too wrapped up in her own pain and confusion that she never noticed. The two of them have a hushed conversation about what it's going to be like when Renee comes back, how they're going to react, what they're going to ask her. It's like the two of them are real sisters.
"We should have the party for Bella tomorrow night," Alice says, catching everyone's attention.
"What party?" Bella asks hesitantly.
"You know, your official welcome home party," Alice says expectantly.
"I've been back for nearly a month," Bella replies.
"Yes, and we went shopping a few weeks ago for it, remember?" Alice says.
"Yeah. You and I snuck off to the cheaper shops," Rose adds.
"Right," Bella murmurs. "Well, who are you going to invite apart from all of you guys? I have no friends," she adds.
"Don't worry about it, I've already organized everything," Alice says cheerfully.
"Who have you invited?" Bella asks suspiciously.
"You'll see," says Rose.
"Guys…" Bella says hesitantly.
"Don't worry about it, you're going to love it," Alice says confidently.
"I'll tell you who she's invited later," Tanya whispers to Bella loud enough so Alice can still hear.
"If you value your life, you won't say a word," Alice says seriously.
"Oh, scary," Tanya taunts, laughing lightly.
"Alice will seriously hurt you if you ruin her plans," says Rose. "She may look small, pixie-like and innocent, but she's a feisty little monster when she wants to be," she adds.
"That, I am," Alice says proudly.
"Right." Tanya replies, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, babe, we should probably head back home," Tanya says to Bella.
"Yeah, okay," Bella says reluctantly, standing up off the couch. I stand with her and entwine our hands together.
"Keep your mouth shut, Tanya!" Alice shouts as we walk away and out the front door. Jessica and Tanya laugh together as they walk to their car.
I rest my hands on Tanya's car, on each side of Bella's face as she leans against the door.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" she asks questioningly.
"Mhmm," I reply, laughing lightly.
"What?" she asks deviously.
"Nothing, you're just beautiful."
"Right," she murmurs.
"Yes, I will see you tomorrow," I assure her, leaning forward and pressing my lips to hers softly. She passionately kisses me back, her hands wrapping around my neck and pulling me flush against her body. I run my hands into her hair and tilt her head back to deepen the kiss. She parts her lips for me and I dart my tongue into her mouth, a moan escaping her lips at the contact.
Tanya honks the car horn, causing Bella and I to abruptly break apart. She smiles sheepishly at me as her chest rises and falls rapidly while she tries to catch her breath.
"I love you," I tell her, kissing her on the cheek before opening the car door for her.
"I love you too," she replies, smiling softly before kissing me on the lips and hopping into the car.
Sorry this chapter is so late, guys! My Beta and I have been really busy! But, the good news is, over the last three weeks, I've written the last five chapters of Coming Undone and it is now complete! :D So, the last five chapters should be posted on time now :)
It's such a crazy feeling, I can't believe it's really complete. Well, technically it's not yet, because I still have to post it on here... But still :)
Thank you all so much for your encouragement, support and beautiful reviews. It really means so, so much to me. I never thought I'd never write fanfic, but now I have and I actually finished the story. I'm just so happy :D
- nat x