A/N – Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all it's characters.
So, it's been a while, sorry this update has taken so long. To everyone that reviewed, I was an epic failure at replying, but thank you all for leaving me a comment, it means the world to me.
Nat MacEvil made me an absolutely gorgeous banner, which I will attempt to put a link to on my profile as soon as I'm done here. I cannot thank her enough for doing that, I'd always wanted a banner. I was like a kid on Christmas when I saw it, she did a fantabulous job.
To the lovely ladies on facebook, thanks for being so patient with me, I love you all. If you want to come and say hi over there, please do, it's a lot of fun. There are teasers and questions and banter, and more often than not, a lot of sarcasm, bad language and threats of offensive e-cards, but that's just me.
The Princess and the E was voted one of the fics of the week over on the Lemonade Stand and that was amazing, thank you to everyone who voted, it really made my day.
And finally a mahoosive thank you to Miss Kitty Vuitton, beta extraordinaire and overall beautiful person, she reads my shit, and makes it so much better. In fact, she's so good at being a beta, she's up for an award! So if you'd vote for her that would be great, because she absolutely deserves to win. It's the Torch Awards and you can find the link on the facebook page and I will try to link it on my profile page.
Ok, I'll shut up now, here is the chapter, I hope you like it. It's just fun. x
Chapter 22
Edward and I sat on the bed talking for a long time. He apologized for jumping to conclusions and not staying to talk with me, and he also wanted reassurance that I was sure about having the baby. He didn't want me to make my decision based on what he so obviously wanted.
I assured him over and over that I wanted the same thing and he eventually accepted that as the truth it was.
"I shouldn't have told Rose and Em, not without talking to you first. I was just…uh… upset?" He said as more of a question, frowning like it was a foreign emotion for him.
We were interrupted by a knock on the door and Edward sighed as he got up and answered the door to an apologetic looking Rose.
She came into the room sheepishly and sat down before me, launching into a long explanation for her behavior. I tried to protest and explain that I understood, but she wouldn't let me get a word in.
"Bella, really, I'm so sorry I was rude to you," Rose said again sincerely, after she'd been apologizing for ten minutes.
"It's ok Rose, it was all just a misunderstanding. We all said some things we didn't mean." I wasn't really mad at her, she had reacted to what she thought she knew, and said something without thinking, hadn't I done the same thing, and she was always going to protect Edward, and I knew that.
Edward, Rose and I had all acted in shock. Assumptions had been made and we'd all said or done something that had hurt someone else, even though we hadn't meant to. It was just another part of being part of such a close family, sometimes mistakes were made and feelings got hurt, but that didn't mean there was no getting over it.
"No, I should never have spoken to you like that. It's just, E was so sure that you were going to ….," She waved her hand rather than saying the words. "…And he was so upset and then when he started crying, well…."
"Fuck Rose, do have to keep bringing that up?" Edward moaned. It was at least the fifth time she'd mentioned it since she'd begun her apology.
"Seriously? That's going to keep coming up for years," she smirked at him.
"I'm gonna… go fucking shoot someone or drive my car fast," Edward said getting up.
"Need to find your balls?" Rose laughed.
"Fuck off," he scowled at her, before kissing me on the cheek. "I love you Princess," he smiled.
"Go drive the bondmobile, just don't shoot anyone," I warned him and he laughed as he left the room.
"I am sorry Bella."
"It's fine Rose. Really, I get it. I did the same, I reacted and said things that I didn't realize Edward had taken the wrong way, I had no idea why he looked upset at first, and then he just left, so I didn't get a chance to ask what he was thinking."
"I guess E's not the only hot headed motherfucker in the house," she sighed. "When I saw you, I just reacted, I mean, I wasn't judging you for the decision I thought you made, I was just angry that you'd apparently been so blunt with him about it."
"I was shocked, but I never even considered not having the baby. I was just overwhelmed."
"I'm not surprised, a baby, that's big," she smiled.
"It's massive," I sighed.
"How do you feel about it?"
"To be honest, I don't know. I'm stunned, I can't quite believe it, and we still have so much to figure out. It's all so surreal. I mean we're going to be responsible for a person, who will depend on us for everything. That's huge Rose."
She nodded agreeing. "You and E can handle it," she said confidently.
"You think?" I knew Edward and I were strong, that we had overcome a lot, but we were both young, we hadn't been together that long and I knew that a baby could change things; it had for my own parents and that was my biggest worry. My mom had soon grown disillusioned with Forks and my dad and while I couldn't imagine ever not wanting to be with Edward, I was worried that I might have some of my mom's personality traits. Before I met Edward I too had been desperate to escape the dreary little town, although things had changed in the last few months.
"Yes absolutely, and we'll all be here to help Bella."
"Thanks," I said, feeling relieved. The Cullens had never been anything but supportive to me, so I knew it wouldn't change now.
"Are we ok, I mean, can you forgive me?" She asked looking uncertain; it was unusual for Rose to ever look anything less than confident.
"Of course Rose, we're family," I smiled.
"We are. And you're my new hero."
"What?" I said confused.
"You made E cry like a little girl Bella. That shits fucking priceless."
"Don't," I giggled, "he's embarrassed enough as it is and there's nothing wrong with a man crying."
"If you say so," she clearly didn't agree and I shook my head at her.
We made our way downstairs and I panicked when I heard Edward yell "Motherfucker! I'm gonna kick your fucking ass!" followed by Emmett laughing loudly. Given Edward's earlier mood I was concerned that they were fighting.
"Hah! I just banged the Princess," I heard Jasper snicker.
"Good one," Emmett said. "Oh look, I just knocked her…."
"If you finish that sentence with up, I'm gonna …."
"Cry?" Emmett guffawed.
"Fuck you! I swear to God, I'm going to fucking shoot you in the head if you keep talking about knocking the Princess…."
"Off! I was going to say off!" Emmett shouted but I could still hear laughter in his voice.
I all but ran into the room, only to find them locked in a fierce and intense round of Mario Kart on the Wii. The language coming out of them was extraordinary and Jasper and Emmett were taking great delight in driving their cars into the Princess's while yelling various innuendos involving the words banging and knocking. Of course, this left Edward looking furious and me blushing stupidly from where I stood in the doorway next to Rose.
"Peaches, Little Momma B!" Emmett called when he noticed us.
I scowled at the nickname and hoped it didn't stick as I made my way over to Edward.
"Congrats," Jasper smiled.
"Thanks," I said as the boys put down their steering wheels and Edward pulled me into his lap.
"So when are you two gonna get married?" Emmett asked. "Before or after Little B becomes Big B?"
"You know E, with you being the groom, it adds a whole new meaning to the term shotgun wedding," Jasper snorted and Edward gave him the finger.
"Woah!" I held up my hands. "No one said anything about a freaking wedding."
"I just said something about a wedding," Emmett said while he looked at me like I was stupid.
"So did I," Jasper smirked.
"You know what I meant," I rolled my eyes at them.
"You don't want to marry me Princess?" Edward asked, although he looked amused as opposed to looking hurt, like he had last time he said it.
"You'll have to actually ask me, if you want the answer to that," I laughed. Was I in a rush to get married, no, but if Edward asked I would undoubtedly say yes. I loved him, I couldn't ever see that changing, we were having a baby, that was far more binding than a marriage certificate, and I was already part of this family, I was already an honorary Cullen, a wedding would just make it legal. And if I was honest I loved the idea of being Edward's wife.
"I asked you earlier," Edward frowned.
"He proposed!" Rose yelled looking shocked.
"No, he did not!" I told her.
"Well, I kinda did."
"How do you kinda propose E?" Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "You either buy a big fucking diamond ring and get down on one knee or you don't, there is no kinda!"
"Uh, well, I just said that we should get married and live happily ever after."
"Oh my God! You are such a fucking moron." She shook her head at him.
"What? We should," Edward stated simply. "So what do you think Princess?" He turned to me.
I gaped at him, stunned.
I was in no way expecting Edward to take me on a moonlit walk and serenade me before he dropped to one knee whilst declaring his undying love for me in a poem he'd written, that was obviously never going to be the way Edward proposed, but I had to admit I was expecting something a bit more romantic than a 'what do you think?'
"I think you need to work on your proposal skills," I told him.
"Is this one of those weird girl things that I'm gonna get wrong?" He sighed.
"Yes," Rose and I answered at the same time.
"Great," Edward smiled big and fake.
We sat around chatting until Esme called us for dinner and not much later I went up to bed exhausted after a stressful weekend. It was a little anti-climactic to simply climb into bed and know that I had to get up to school in the morning. I mean, I had been given this huge, life altering news but things weren't any different in the here and now. Being pregnant had changed everything and nothing at the same time. I felt apprehensive, but excited, nervous, yet but thrilled. There were so many emotions running through my head and I couldn't help it when my hand rested over my stomach as I settled down to go to sleep.
Edward climbed in beside me, smiling softly as he caught me caressing my belly.
"I love you Princess," he said kissing my cheek and pulling me so my back was against his chest. His hand settled over mine, and I fell asleep quickly, safe and secure, wrapped in his arms.
I protested when he woke me the following morning, but reluctantly got out of bed, showered and wolfed down the breakfast Esme had waiting when I arrived in the kitchen.
Edward drove me to school, and all day long I felt like I was carrying this huge secret around with me, although, thankfully no one could tell there was anything different about me. Christ, if Esme and Carlisle weren't so on the ball, I wouldn't have even known there was something different about me. But there was and while I was still shocked, I found myself smiling every time I thought about the little person inside me.
After school, Edward and I met with Carlisle in his office to discuss my pregnancy. He gave us a lot of information and performed a quick check up. He also provided me with some pre-natal vitamins to take every morning. From the rough dates I gave to him, Carlisle thought I was about seven weeks pregnant and estimated that I was due towards the end of June. He said he'd arrange for an ultrasound around twelve weeks to get a more exact date, and assured us he'd refer us to a good doctor.
That night, Edward and I talked at length about the future and what we wanted to do once the baby came and he was happy to do whatever I wanted. If I wanted to get a house of our own he'd buy me one, if I wanted to stay where we were at home with his family, he was happy for us to do that, if I still wanted to go to college, he was fine with that too. Edward assured me that he would be there every step of the way and that his family would help us out whenever they could. We discussed hiring a full time nanny so that I could still study, but I knew I did not want to go down that road. I wanted Edward and I to raise our baby together, and I was lucky that Edward could easily afford for me to that; not everyone had that luxury, especially at our age. College could wait a year or two. I still wanted to go, but finding out I was pregnant had shifted my plans and priorities slightly.
We agreed that staying at the house while I was pregnant was for the best and I was relieved that I could still graduate High School before the baby was due. As long as I kept my grades up and passed my finals, I could defer going to college for a year or two, but I couldn't see myself wanting to go in the fall when the baby would still be so young.
When I started yawning Edward went to shower while I changed into my pajamas and settled into bed.
Edward climbed in beside me and I rolled on to my side so I was facing him.
I kissed him slowly, leisurely, letting him know he was my everything. He put his hand on my hip pulling me closer to him and I threw my leg over his waist, moaning as I came into contact with his body. We kissed feverishly, and I pulled at his hair as I ground myself against him before it became too much and I needed him right then and there.
I loosened my grip in his hair and slid my hands down his chest. When I got to his boxers, I pushed on them, making my intentions clear. Edward grabbed my hand and held it in his, seemingly content just kissing me.
"Edward," I whimpered, sounding desperate and breathy as I pulled away from him, breaking our kiss, "Please."
"We can't," Edward gasped.
"Why not?" I panted.
"Uh, the baby."
"What about the baby?"
"It's like, right there, I might, uh, disturb it, or something."
I stared at him incredulously and I'm sure I heard him mumble something random about not wanting the baby to be blind before I burst out laughing.
It was two weeks later when I finally reached the end of my rope. Edward would kiss me, spend all night worshipping me with his talented fingers and mouth but he absolutely refused to have sex with me. I don't know why, but I was horny all the time and it was grating on my nerves. I'd argued, reasoned and tried to seduce him into it and he was still holding firm.
"Is everything alright?" Carlisle asked startled, as I stormed into his office without knocking, pulling Edward behind me.
"No! Edward thinks he's going to poke the baby in the eye," I said bluntly to Carlisle, who looked at me blankly for a few moments.
I knew the exact moment he understood what I was saying, because he threw his head back and laughed loudly. Edward glared at me. I listened smugly, while Carlisle gave Edward the 'sex during pregnancy' talk. Edward blushed and coughed his way through the ten-minute lecture.
When Carlisle was done, Edward stood up to leave and I smirked at him.
He bent down and kissed my cheek softly before moving up to whisper in my ear, "Let's see if you're still smirking when I'm done with you tonight Princess." I felt tingles travel down my spine as I stared after him as he left the room, I felt myself get hot and bothered, but, come on, it had been two weeks!
"…You feeling?" I vaguely registered that Carlisle was talking to me.
"Huh?" I turned back to Carlisle and tried to shake of the lust filled haze I was currently experiencing.
"You feel ok?" Carlisle prompted me, chuckling.
"Oh, uh, yeah, fine actually, much better than last week."
"I think you might be further along than we originally thought. I'm going to book you in for an ultrasound. We can get a more accurate picture of things then."
"Really!" I couldn't wait to see my baby, and make sure it was healthy and things were progressing as normal.
Although it had never been my intention to get pregnant senior year, now it had happened and I'd got my head around it, I was quite excited. The thought of a little person who was half me and half Edward had completely taken over.
Carlisle told me he'd make some calls and try to get me scheduled in with one of his old colleagues in the next week and I skipped out of his office to find Edward and tell him that we would get to see our baby.
To say he was excited would be an understatement. He swept me into his arms and took me straight to his room to show me just how much he loved me, finally giving me exactly what I had been craving these last two weeks.
He was cautious and gentle, more so than he had ever been, even during our first time. I knew he was still worried about causing the baby harm, but as he slid in and out of me, and we settled into a rhythm, he finally let go of his careful control and had me trembling and panting beneath him in minutes.
He followed quickly after and collapsed to the side of me, avoiding putting any of his weight on me. I loved him just a little bit more for being so concerned about the baby and me and I rolled onto my side to face him.
"I love you Edward," I told him.
"I love you Princess, so fucking much," He pulled me onto his chest and we lay in silence for a while before Rose yelled up the stairs that dinner was ready.
The next morning, Carlisle informed Edward and I that he had scheduled us for a check up and ultrasound appointment for that Friday and the rest of the week passed in a blur of school, exhaustion and nervousness over the anticipation of my upcoming appointment.
Carlisle drove us to the hospital on Friday morning. Edward was jumpy and excited, but we were also nervous. I think there was a part of us that knew once we saw the first image of the baby, it would somehow make this whole thing more real, and there was also a little worry that something might be wrong.
Carlisle stayed in the waiting room when I was called through to the doctor.
"Isabella Swan?" The doctor looked down at my notes and then up at me as we entered his office.
"Hi," I smiled and he gestured for me to have a seat.
"I'm Dr Sterling, it says here that you're unsure of your dates."
I nodded and sat down next to Edward.
"I'm fitting you in, very last minute, as a favor to an old colleague. Not everybody receives special treatment, or gets an appointment with me" He announced and I frowned. He wasn't giving off a very friendly vibe and he looked a bit stern. I looked over at Edward and he took my hand and gave me a smile.
"I take it this wasn't a planned pregnancy?"
"Uh, no," I admitted.
"But you weren't using contraception?"
"No, I mean, yes, I was on the pill, but um…" I shrugged. I wasn't sure how I'd ended up pregnant.
"And you're eighteen?"
"Uh yeah," I said and he shook his head.
"Still in High school?"
"Yes." The doctor shook his head again and sighed loudly.
"Your last period was September?"
"I think so," I cringed.
"You think so?" Dr Sterling raised an eyebrow at me.
"Uh, well…" I trailed off, I was fairly certain I'd had a light period shortly after my dad died but those weeks were a bit of a haze and I wasn't going to get into it with the doctor.
"Perhaps you should pay more attention, if you think you are mature enough to have a sexual relationship, you should be responsible about it."
My eyebrows nearly shot off my head I was so shocked by his attitude.
"With all due respect…" I started, trying to be polite even though this man didn't deserve it.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Edward asked him bluntly, clearly not worried about politeness.
Dr Sterling looked a bit taken aback that Edward had spoken to him like that and he muttered something under his breath.
"Sorry, speak up, I didn't quite catch that," Edward glared at him. I saw his jaw tense and his nostrils flare and I panicked, the last thing I wanted was for E to make an appearance at my appointment.
"Edward," I tried to calm him down, while the doctor wasn't being very professional, he probably didn't deserve to have Edward pull a gun on him and Edward looked about one wrong comment away from doing just that. I pulled out my phone and text Carlisle asking him to come to the room, hopefully, he could diffuse the situation before it got worse.
"I said," Dr. Sterling squared his shoulders," that I'm sick of seeing teenagers coming in here thinking they're in love and that they are responsible enough to take care of a child. When the reality is they'll end up miserable with a baby they can't even take care of."
"You think I don't love her?" Edward said coldly.
Uh, oh. This was not going to end well.
"I think you're both too young to know a thing about real life. How exactly are you and your girlfriend planning to support this baby when you're both in high school?"
Edward stood up and took a step towards him and the good doctor seemed to lose some of his confidence when he caught the look in Edward's eyes.
"That is neither your concern nor your business Doctor, but if you think I'm going to sit here and let you look down your fucking nose at the Princess, when you don't know a damn thing about her or me, you are sadly mistaken. You condescending, self-righteous, little prick."
"Young man, I find your language offensive."
"Fuck you! I find your attitude offensive."
Carlisle came rushing into the room and Dr. Sterling seemed to sigh in relief.
"What happened?" He asked, taking in Edward's face and the slightly cowering posture of Dr Sterling.
"Carlisle, I'm sorry, I know you asked personally, but I don't think I can see this patient," Dr Sterling said haughtily. "Unfortunately, her partner is rude and his behavior is threatening."
"What did you do?" Carlisle sighed.
"He…"
"Not him, you!" Carlisle quickly corrected his colleague.
"What?" Dr Sterling gasped, "I didn't do anything."
"I know my son better than that, so I know you did something David," he told him coldly.
Dr. Sterling's eyes widened in understanding and I smirked at him. Edward was still looking like he wanted to kill him.
"I think you should leave," Carlisle told him.
Dr. Sterling nodded and left the room.
"Really Edward, you couldn't stay calm for one appointment?" Carlisle arched his eyebrow.
"Dad, that guy is a first class dick. I've got a good mind to put in a formal complaint," Edward said seriously.
Carlisle and I looked at each other briefly before we both burst out laughing.
"God knows what he'll be like by the time you're ready to deliver," Carlisle shook his head as we got ourselves under control, while Edward grumbled about us laughing at him.
"Let me find the nurse," Carlisle left for a few moments before returning with a nurse who instructed me to lie down on a bed while Carlisle set up the machine.
I laid down and Carlisle squirted some gel on my belly. He took out a wand and pressed it down moving the gel around. "Now, I'm not an expert, but I should be able to give you a rough idea of the age and your due date," he said as some grey clouding came onto his screen. He moved the wand over my stomach pressing down a little.
I stared at the little screen, trying to make out anything but it just looked like static to me. After a little while Carlisle frowned and moved forward to squint at the screen.
"What, what is it?" Edward asked, "Is something wrong?"
"One second Edward," Carlisle mumbled.
I looked at Edward panicked, and he took my hand. I know this baby hadn't been planned and that I hadn't really known how to react to the news, but the thought that something might be wrong was terrifying.
"Carlisle please," I begged. "Is the baby alright? Can you see it?"
"Them," he leaned back and looked at me.
"What?"
"I can see them," he turned the screen towards us more and pointed. "You're having twins," he said stunned.
"Holy fuck!" Edward breathed. "And they're ok?"
"They look fine. Both have a strong heartbeat and they look to be around fourteen weeks, which would explain why Bella has been feeling better. This gives you a due date of around the 20th of May. So a little bit sooner than we first thought."
I stared at the image in awe, as the picture was now clearer than I thought it would be. I don't know what I had been expecting, maybe something that resembled a kidney bean, but they looked like babies. Like real little people. Carlisle pointed out heads, arms, legs, even the heartbeats. It was as amazing as it was terrifying.
"Princess?" Edward asked because I had yet to say anything.
I shook my head and took a tissue from Carlisle to wipe off my stomach. I'd only just got my head around one baby, and now we were going to have two. How the hell was I going to raise two babies?
Carlisle printed off some pictures and handed them to me as I sat up, I took them automatically and let Edward lead me out of the hospital, on the drive home he spoke with his dad but I had no idea what was being said.
I sat in the back of the car in a daze. Simply staring down at the photos I held in my hand.
Edward helped me out of the car and we walked through the front door to find a welcoming committee had gathered and awaiting our return, anxious and eager looks on all their faces.
"Let me see, let me see," Esme said excitedly, and I handed her over the scan photo numbly. Esme stared at it for a few seconds in awe as her eyes filled with tears.
"Twins?" She gasped, looking positively thrilled at the news.
Alice snatched it from her hand and whispered a "Wow."
Rose took the picture from her and her hand went to her chest and she beamed.
Jasper looked over her shoulder, smiling as he took in the image.
"E, Dude! You knocked her up twice, you are the fucking man!" Emmett yelled, giving Edward a fist bump.
"Um, I don't think that's quite how it works Emmett," Carlisle interjected, as I stared at Edward, who despite being extremely intelligent, was looking really rather proud of himself.
He caught me staring and blushed, giving me a bashful smile and a shrug and damn if I didn't melt a little bit, because he was too adorable for words.
I was so caught up with Edward that I didn't notice Emmett had dropped to his knees in front of me.
"Hey, Thing one and Thing two, I'm Uncle Em. Can you hear me?" He shouted. "Can they hear me Little B?" He looked up at me with an excited look on his face.
"Probably, you're pretty fucking loud, the profoundly deaf would ask you to shut the fuck up," Edward said, pulling me away from Emmett.
"You okay Princess?" He asked me, quietly, uncertainly, because I hadn't said one word since finding out and I hated that through all his family's excitement at this news, I was causing him to worry.
I looked around at all the Cullens, at what was now my family too, and I knew that we were going to be okay. These babies were going to be born into a family that loved so completely. They would grow up surrounded by people who cared, and finally I smiled. I took his face in my hands and pulled him down so I could kiss him.
"I love you Edward," I told him, and his answering smile, was so bright, so happy, that I couldn't help but be swept away with the excitement.
Edward and I could do this. Even though we were both only eighteen, I knew Edward was it for me. We might have started early, but I had no doubts that Edward and I could be good parents.
The following Thursday was Thanksgiving and Alec and Marcus came to stay at the house for the holiday weekend. It was full of fun and laughter and unlike any other I had experienced. Thanksgiving with my mom had usually consisted of a takeout and last year with my dad, I had cooked a small meal for us, Billy and Jake while they watched the game.
With the Cullens though, there was a huge meal, a beautifully decorated table, and everyone had somehow helped out, although Esme did most of the work.
Marcus was overjoyed with the news of my pregnancy, and he fussed over me the entire weekend, barely letting me lift a finger, annoying Edward and amusing the rest of the family to no end.
Everyone was in good spirits, until Alec informed us that Aro had recovered sufficiently enough to leave the country and he was now convalescing in Italy. Edward was not happy that Aro was expected to make a full recovery, but Marcus assured him that they would continue to keep track of his movements, and that for now, he was in no fit state to challenge them.
The criminal side of the Volturi business had been taken over by a man named Liam. He and Marcus had met, territories had been reinstated, and they were developing a fairly civil working relationship, with relatively little drama. Liam knew he couldn't compete with Marcus, so he'd agreed to all the terms Marcus had apparently laid out and everything remained calm and quiet in Seattle.
I had made arrangements to meet with Jake over the holiday weekend. I hadn't seen him since the funeral, although we still spoke about once a week on the phone. Leah had moved in with him and was working at the Police Department in Port Angeles, and I made sure that she wasn't going to be home before I agreed to go over.
Jake had been made temporary Chief of Police in Forks as the small department consisted only of him and one other guy, who didn't want the job. It wasn't ideally the position Jake desired, he wanted to be a detective, but this was a step in the right direction.
He often asked questions about Edward and the Cullens and I always insisted I knew nothing and had never seen anything illegal. It was particularly bad after the weekend Edward was in Seattle, but I assured Jake that Edward had been with me all the entire time.
Edward wasn't overjoyed that I was spending the afternoon with Jake, but he drove me over to his house on Sunday afternoon. I needed to tell Jake about my pregnancy, and I was a little nervous. Edward told me it was "none of his fucking business," but I wanted to tell him myself before anyone else could.
After a tense staring match between Edward and Jake, that ended when I pulled Edward to me to kiss him and promise to call him when I wanted picking up, I followed Jake inside and noticed the changes that had been made since the last time I was here. Leah's influence was everywhere and I laughed as I picked up the flowery cushions and Jake blushed. I didn't like Leah any more than Jake liked Edward, so we refrained from talking about them for the afternoon.
It was nice; we watched crappy TV and reminisced about my dad. Edward and his family were always happy to listen to my stories about Charlie, but Jake knew him more personally. He had his own stories to tell from the years he'd spent growing up around him and then from being colleagues and friends with my dad. That was why I kept him in my life; I needed someone who was a connection to my father.
We ordered Pizza for dinner and we were munching away when Jake asked me about college.
"Have you got any acceptances yet?"
"Oh, yeah, Seattle and Alaska, I haven't heard from the others yet."
"Let me guess, you're going to Seattle," Jake rolled his eyes.
"Well, um, actually I'm deferring."
"What!" he yelled. "Why, so you can stay here with Cullen? Bells don't do that, you've always been desperate to go to college, don't let him stop you. Christ! That boy has done enough, you don't have to do everything he wants."
"I'm not, Edward was always going to come to Seattle with me," I said angrily. "He was prepared to go to Florida, Alaska or anywhere else, if that's what I chose, so don't try to make out he is anything other than supportive, because you're wrong," I glared at him.
"Ok, I'm sorry," Jake held up his hands and I calmed myself down a bit. "So why aren't you going?"
"Oh, well, you see, I'm kinda, sorta…" I hesitated and Jake gave me a look that said 'go on'.
"Pregnant," I finished lamely.
"Come again?" He almost screeched, wide eyed and startled by my announcement.
I actually laughed nervously, because the look on his face was comical. He looked like one of those cartoon characters, with his eyes bugging out of his head and I was almost expecting steam to come out of his ears.
"What…how…what…!" He spluttered and I gave him a couple of minutes to compose himself.
"You're having it, you're staying here to have the baby?" he said eventually and I nodded.
"The baby will be a Cullen."
"So?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
"That family is no good Bella, you shouldn't want to be a part of it. I know you don't believe me, but I won't let you get dragged down by them, you're better than that."
"Jake," I warned.
"What the hell would Charlie think?" he shouted. "He'd be so disappointed in you."
I blinked back tears that he would say that to me.
"I'm just gonna go," I said getting up and heading for the door.
"No! Bells wait. I'm sorry ok, listen, you have other options," he said hurriedly. "You could come and stay here, if you didn't want to leave Forks or stay with your mom. You don't have to stay with him. I can help you raise the baby."
"What!"
"Bells, I'm your best friend, or at least I was before the Cullens came along, I… I would be good to you, we could make it work. I'd do right by you Bells, you know I would," he rambled as I continued to stare at him.
"We could…uh well we can get married if you want."
I gaped at him horrified that he would even suggest something like that, and also, what the hell was up with the men in my life and their crappy proposals.
"You…you have a girlfriend," I stuttered stupidly, like that was what was stopping me.
"I'll explain the situation to Leah, she'll understand."
I snorted, because the man was clearly crazy and Leah, well, she had never once struck me as the understanding type.
"Just think about it, I can protect you, you don't have to be scared of the Cullens."
"I'm not scared of them at all! Right now I'm more scared of you. Are you insane?"
"No, I'm trying to help you Bells, I'm trying to be a good friend, and I'm trying to do what Charlie would want me to do."
"Don't you dare bring my dad into this!" I yelled at him, before I pulled out my phone and called Edward, asking him to come and pick me up, while Jacob watched me.
"Bella if you have his baby, you'll never escape," he said when I'd hung up.
"I don't want to escape! I love him Jake, and he loves me. Can't you just be happy for me?"
"Oh yeah, I'm over the fucking moon for you Bella. You're eighteen, in high school, pregnant by a boy who is believed to be one of the most dangerous men on the West Coast, a known killer, and thought to be in line to take over the Cullen family. Congratulations!"
"You know what, I'll wait outside," I stormed out of his house and stood in his drive, waiting for Edward.
"I know you don't want to hear it Bella, but Detective Richards is convinced that the Cullens here in Forks are far more involved with Marcus and Alec than we've ever believed. I'm warning you that if you stay with him, you will be brought into this. Do you know they already have a file on you in organized crime, you are now officially a person of interest because of you relationship with all the Cullens."
"Excuse me?" I gasped against my will; I had been intending to ignore him.
"That's right Bella, and now you want to bring a kid into your life? When are you going to realize that Cullen isn't who you think he is?"
"His name is Edward! And I know who he really is. So just stop! I'm proud that these babies will be Cullens, because that means they will be bought up in a warm, loving, close knit family, by good people that adore them."
"What do you mean them?"
"We're having twins Jake, and Edward and I are going to be together. I don't care what you think of him and if you want us to be friends then you have to accept that I love him and I'm going to be with him, no matter what you say."
"Well then I guess we can't be friends," Jake said. "I'll never accept that and I will never stop trying to make you see who he really is."
I turned my back on him and we stood in silence for several minutes before Edward pulled up.
"I won't give up Bells," Jake called as I jumped into Edward's car.
"How did it go Princess?" Edward asked as soon as I was seated.
"He wasn't best pleased with the news, but it's got nothing to do with him," I shrugged.
Edward looked me over, "what happened? What did he say?"
"Nothing. Can we just go," I said more testily than I should have, because I was angry with Jake not Edward.
"What the fuck did you say to her?" Edward was out of the car before I could stop him.
"I just told her the truth," Jake shrugged as I got back out of the car and headed towards Edward.
"I didn't ask if you told her the truth did I you fucking moron. I asked what you said to her. If I find out you upset her, I'll…"
"Edward!" I yelled, interrupting him. Jake would just love Edward to threaten him.
"You'll what Cullen…hmm," Jake smirked knowing that he was pushing.
"Edward please let's go, please, I want to go home."
"No Bells, I want to hear what he has to say, you keep telling me he's so wonderful, let's see your perfect boyfriends true colors come to light."
"I have nothing to say to you Black. I'm just feeling a little over-protective, with her being pregnant and all, I don't want her getting upset, it's not good for her or our babies," Edward said too calmly, taking my hand and leading back to his car and settling me into the seat.
Jake scowled at Edward before promptly turning around and storming into his house, slamming the door behind him.
Edward didn't get in to the car for a few minutes, he stood, fists clenched and breathing heavy until he finally he got himself under control.
"What did he say to you?" He asked, starting the car and pulling onto the road.
"Uh, lots of stuff, nothing of any importance."
"You're lying."
"I'm not lying, I'm…. withholding."
"Well don't."
"I'll tell you when we get home." The last thing I needed to do was to tell him everything Jake had said while he was driving, or while we still weren't that far from Jake's house.
Edward narrowed his eyes, but thankfully carried on driving. As soon as we arrived at the house he took my hand and led me up the stairs and into the bedroom.
"Talk to me Princess, please, tell me why you're you so upset." Edward knew me so well; he knew I was upset even if I tried to hide it from him.
So I talked. I told him what Jake had said about Detective Richards. I told him that they knew Edward was due to take over the family, and I told him about Jake wanting me to leave the Cullens and go live with him. I told him almost everything.
Edward listened intently, and after I was done he took a couple of minutes to process all that I said.
"So he asked you to what, live with him and his bitch girlfriend, happily raising our children in some kind of weird fucked up threesome?" Edward asked.
"Uh, no…I don't think Leah was really part of his plan. I think he meant for him and me to…." I winced.
"What makes you think that?"
"Um, well…he said that we could get married," I mumbled.
"I'm sorry, he said what?"
"You heard."
"Motherfucker! What the ever-loving fuck did he think he was doing, fucking proposing to my fucking girlfriend! What kind of dickish, snide, underhand, son of a bitch is he?"
"I think he was just shocked, it's not a big deal, he didn't really mean it."
"Are you serious right now?"
"There's just no point getting upset about it Edward. It doesn't matter; I told him that he had to accept us being together if he wanted us to be friends and he said he couldn't do that. So I doubt I'll see him again," I shrugged. I couldn't help feeling a little sad that I couldn't keep the relationship I had with Jake, but if it was a choice between Edward and Jacob, I'd choose Edward every time.
"He said he didn't want to be your friend!" Edward looked incredulous.
"Yeah," I sighed wearily, trying to hold back my tears, pregnancy hormones and knowing the last positive link to my dad was now broken were making it difficult." It's fine Edward, things change."
"You do know that I am going to kill him, don't you Princess."
"No, you're not."
"I'm almost certain that I am." He stated, grabbing his keys and walking out of the bedroom.
A/N – Hope you enjoyed. I would love to know what you thought.
I'm off to read Sideline Collision, because I already know I'm going to love it. It is my reward for finally posting a chapter. x