Speak
Chapter 5
Edward
All the way to my mom's I couldn't get Bella out of my head; her doe eyes, long beautiful hair that I just wanted to wrap my hands around, the way her painted on jeans framed her perfect ass, and that white cotton t-shirt that showed off the shape of her glorious breasts. She was the type of girl that I always imagined I would marry- that never needed to cover her face in make-up or wear fancy designer clothes to make her beautiful. Bella was a natural beauty; she had clearly passed that gene onto her daughter. There was no mistaking that Leah was Bella's daughter, they looked so alike with their brown eyes and hair. The only difference I had noticed in the small time I saw them together, was that Leah's skin was darker than Bella. An image of a little girl with brown hair and green eyes popped in my mind. Fuck, I've only known the women for five minutes and I'm picturing our kids. I really needed to get my head out of the clouds, but I was surprised when I realised that I didn't want to forget about Bella Swan; in fact I wanted the opposite. Emmett was right though, I didn't know anything about her, but I now planned to change that little fact very soon.
I had always thought that Emmett was secretly in love with her. To my relief, he wasn't anger or jealous when he noticed my ogling. In fact, he laughed at me and pointed out how obvious I was. So I was guessing he would be fine with me dating his best friend. Dating? What has gotten into me? I don't even know the women, and from the way she acted earlier, I would bet that she hated my guts right now.
I parked my Volvo in my parents drive. I was offered a cruiser from the Chief when I moved here, but I really didn't want to be driving my son around in a police car. I also saw the attention that Emmett and the other lads had gotten from women about their cars, and that was the last thing I wanted, so I bought myself a soccer mom's car. It was the best decision I ever made.
"Mom? Dad? Anthony?" I yelled as I walked through the door. The smell of homemade food surrounded my senses creating flashbacks of my childhood.
"Daddy, you're here!" My son's voice yelled, followed by his little legs running in my direction.
"Anthony. No running in the house." I warned him in my best dad tone.
"Sorry, Dad." I ruffled his hair letting him know that he was forgiven, and we made our way into the kitchen, knowing that my mother would be standing in front of the stove. I was proven correct when I noticed her stirring something in a pot.
"Hey, Mom." I leaned over and kissed her cheek. My mother believed that a true man was always a gentleman- no matter what century we lived in.
"Hi, Sweetheart." She answered warmly.
"Daddy, did you ask Bella about my play date with Leah?" Anthony whined tugging at my t-shirt. I looked down into his hopeful green eyes.
"How did you know Leah's mom was called Bella?" I asked him. He never mentioned her name before, having only referred to her as Leah's mom.
"She told me." He answered shrugging his shoulder as if the information was not important.
"Bella Swan?" My Mom asked breaking my glaze on my son.
"Yeah, you know her?" I asked.
"Yeah, I know her well." Her lips curved up on one side.
"Really?" I asked. I had never heard her mention Bella before. Maybe she could tell me more about her.
I watched her wipe her hands on her apron and move to get something out of one of the cupboards, her caramel hair falling loosely out of her bun. I turned back to my son who was still tugging at my white t-shirt.
"Uncle Em is going to talk to Bella tonight about your play date, okay? Why don't you go and tell Pops I'm here." Anthony nodded his head and made his way to find my father; giving me the perfect opportunity to grill my mom about Bella.
"So, what do you know about Bella?" I questioned.
My mom looked at me from the corner of her eye, a small smile on her face.
"What is it that you want to know, Edward?" Her voice laced with sweetness and a hint of amusement.
I jumped on top the worktop, settling in to hear everything my mother knew. "She has the most adorable little girl, have you meet her?" I answered.
"Yes, I've met Leah a few times over the years; Bella has done a wonderful job." I nodded in agreement. I couldn't help but get the feeling that I have missed out on something; that I was just catching up on something. I guess, in a way, I am. I decided to ask my mom the one question that I wanted to ask Emmett later, but wasn't sure if I should.
"Do you know Leah's father, too?" I asked. A sad glaze covered my mother's eyes, creating an uneasy feeling in my gut.
"Yes. I know who he is."
"Who is he?" I could feel my heartbeat increase, afraid that she was going to tell me that my best friend was Leah's father. Even though I knew, deep down, that he wasn't.
"Jacob Black." She whispered. Jacob Black, I knew that name, but I couldn't remember from where. "You know his father, Billy Black." She continued.
"Oh, isn't Billy's son… Oh!" I gasped when I put the puzzle together. Billy's son had died just before I moved here. That meant that Bella was raising Leah alone- just like I was raising Ant.
I watched my mother cooking in silence for a few minutes before my curiosity got the better of me.
"Mom, do you know what happened to him? I know he died, but that's all…"
"Daddy, I found him." Anthony interrupted, dragging my father into the kitchen by his hand.
"Hi, Son." My father chuckled, making his way over to me. I embraced him in our usual greeting where my father pats me on the back, and I nod my head in greeting.
"Anthony, why don't we go and get washed up for dinner?" My mom suddenly announced. She made her way passed me and whispered something into my father's ear. I watched the same sadness that my mom had just a second before glaze over my father's blue eyes. He just nodded his hand and ran a hand through his blond hair- a habit I had picked up on.
I watched my father collected himself. Whatever he was going to talk to me about was very hard for him, and I felt the uneasy feeling in my gut again.
"So? Bella's moved back to town?" He asked moving to lean against the counter opposite me.
"Yeah, she's my new neighbour." I watched a flick of excitement light up his face, but the sadness quickly appeared again.
"What has Emmett told you about Bella and Leah's past?"
"Nothing." I sighed, my body hunching over while I rested my elbows on my knees. "He's coming over later to explain Bella's craziness."
"Bella's craziness?" He asked. I wasn't going to tell him anything until I knew what he knew about her.
"I'll explain after you tell me what you know about her?"
"Okay." He agreed. Wow! I didn't expect him to agree to that quite so easily.
"You know Bella is Charlie's daughter?" I nodded my head encouraging him to continue. "Right. Well, I meet Bella about six years ago, just after we moved here. Her boyfriend Jacob Black brought her into the hospital after she fell off of her motorbike. They had moved to Phoenix together to go to college. Anyway, I got to know Bella and Jacob that summer- the three of them went everywhere together." He laughed to himself, lost in his memories.
"Three of them?" I asked, bringing him back to the present.
"Bella, Jacob, and Emmett. Has Emmett never mentioned them?"
"Yeah, he mentions Bella all the time, but never Jacob." My curiosity was at high peak now.
"Oh well, that's understandable. Beside Bella, Jacob was Emmett's best friend; they all grew up together here in Forks. Emmett stayed here for college, as you know he's very close with Charlie. He wanted to follow in his footsteps so he stayed here to train with Charlie." I nodded my head again; I wanted to collect all the information before I said anything.
"Bella had broken her arm that day. I had taken some blood work from her, and warned her to stay off her bike for the next nine months," he smiled. "They had no idea that Bella was pregnant. Jacob had to reassure Bella that everything would work out. I sat there watching him take care of her, easing her worries away."
"What happened to him?" I finally asked, his smile falling from his face.
"I got a phone call during the night about five years ago; Emmett had phoned asking if I could fly out to Phoenix straight away. He didn't say what had happened, expect that Bella needed me. After that day Bella broke her arm, I had treated her whenever she visited here. We had gotten to know Bella and Jacob very well. Anyway, I took the first plane out there; Bella was 8 months pregnant by this time. Emmett met me at the airport. He tried to explain that Jacob was dead, and Bella wasn't handling it very well. He was a mess, barely holding it together, and was very scared about Bella and the baby. Bella wouldn't talk to anyone or let any other doctor check that she and the baby were okay. She blamed herself for his death." He sighed.
"Why did she blame herself?" I asked.
"Jacob had run out to the nearest store that was open late at night to get her something she wanted that night. He was shot by a robber in the store." He added.
My chest grew very tight at an image of Bella, broken and crying over her boyfriend while trying to take care of a baby girl.
"Bella gave birth to Leah two days later." He added.
"Fuck, she was premature?" I asked shocked. Not only did Bella have to deal with the sudden death of her boyfriend, but she had a baby that was born a month earlier than she was due.
"Yeah, she had trouble breathing and needed to stay in the hospital for a few of weeks, but she was a beautiful little girl." I tried to picture Leah as a baby; I can only imagine how beautiful she was.
"You were there?"
"Yes, your mother joined me. She wanted to help Bella, knowing that she would need a female around to help her." I realised that I had never questioned where the Chief's wife was. I knew he was married as he still wore his wedding ring, but I had never seen her, or even heard him mention her.
"Where was Bella's mother?" I wondered. I was not trying to question my parents actions, this sounded like something my parents would do. I loved how they would always go out their way to help someone else. From what my father was telling me, I'm guessing they grew very close, and grew to care about Bella a lot- since they dropped everything to take care of her, when she needed them.
"Bella's mother died during childbirth. Charlie raised Bella by himself just like you are with Anthony."
"Why did I not know anything about this?" I wondered.
"You were in Chicago, getting ready for my grandson." He answered as if I should have already known about it.
"Dad that was…"
"Hello family." A high bell sounding voice called from the front door ending our conversation. I filed what my father had told me away, hoping it would make more sense when I talked to Emmett later tonight.
My sister's heels clicked on the hard surface of the flooring as she walked into the kitchen, her presence lighting up the room. It always amazed me how she could do that. Wherever we would go, people always noticed Alice. They always talked to her, inviting her to events. She was the popular one at school; dated the jocks, hanging out with the cheerleaders, and she was even voted prom queen. She was everything I wasn't. I was the geek of the family; I always had my nose in a book, or I spent my time playing the piano. I was never unhappy or bullied at school. I had a few friends that I spent my time with in and out of school, but I never had the life Alice did. That was something I was grateful for; I loved my quiet life, unlike my sister's.
"Dinner's ready." My mother announced. I hadn't even noticed that she'd come back into the kitchen. I looked at the dinner table to find Anthony already sitting there chatting happily with his aunt. I walked over, kissed her head, and sat in the seat next to her.
"Hello my dearest brother. What has you thinking so hard?" She laughed.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about helping me organize a couple of events to raise some money. I want to open one of the Kid's Centres that they have in Seattle, here." I announced, while filling my plate with mashed potatoes. Forks had a few parks, ice cream shops, a beach, and a couple of sport courts for kids to play on, but there is very little for kids to do here. Seattle has a play centre that Anthony loves. It had a big pirate's ship that is made like a bouncy castle; with slides, swings, climbing frames, even those colourful balls that you can jump around in. I wanted to open one here. Seattle is too far away to drive to all the time and Anthony starts school next week, so that only leaves the weekends to go. I explained this to my sister, even though she already knew about it. Anthony has often phoned her, begging her to take him when I couldn't.
My parents thought it was a great idea and we spend the next couple of hours decided on fundraising events that we could do. Alice decided she wanted to do a fashion show in the local mall. She was sure that the shops would donate some outfits and people would pay to watch the show. My mom wanted a family sport's day where families would compete against each other in different sporting events. Anthony was very excited about this event, claiming that with his family would win them all. If I had to be truthful, I really liked the idea as well. It was something fun and exciting that would require families to spend the day together. The other event that both my mother and sister jumped up and down about was an auction. They wanted it to be an adult only event where people would pay for someone else for one night. I agreed to think about this event, I really did not want to have to spend an evening with someone like Tanya or Jessica if I could help it.
XXX
I carried my sleeping son out of the car, the air was chilly and misty, creating small balls of air to escape from Anthony's mouth as he gently breathed against my chest. He fell asleep in my lap while everyone was trying to come up with fundraising ideas, so I had said goodbye to my family and quickly made my way home. I was debating in my head if I should wake him for his bath or just leave it until in the morning. It was only one night he would miss it, but it was also something I did not want to make into a habit.
I took a closer look at my son sleeping in my arms, noticing how much older he looked. His features were slowly changing, his baby fat was gone, his hair darker, and his body heavier. Soon he would off be to college and getting married. The thought scared the shit out of me. He'll not need me soon, he'll be able to make his own breakfast or drive his own car to school. He was growing too quickly for my comfort.
I walked towards my front door, keys in one hand, the other was holding onto Anthony while his head rested on my shoulder, legs dangling under my arm. I was so busy trying to keep Anthony's body still that I almost missed a plate at my front door. A large white plate full of what looked like cookies and a small note was lying on the ground. I had no idea where they could have come from. The only person I knew that baked cookies was my mother, and I was just with her, so I knew it wasn't her. I tried to bend down hoping to grab the plate with the hand that I had my house keys in. I had seen movies where women could pick something up while holding their child so it couldn't be that hard, right?
I slowly bent my knees, lowering myself towards the ground, holding onto my son- praying that he doesn't fall. When I had reached a very low crouching position, I grabbed the note from the plate, opened it quickly and read it.
Edward,
I'm very sorry for what I said to you earlier. Thank you for taking care of my daughter. Here are some chocolate chip cookies I made for you and Anthony. I hope you can forgive me.
Bella
I smiled at Bella's note. She sounded sincere and even left an apology gift which I would happily indulge in later. This also gave me an excuse to go over to her house tomorrow, talk to her, and get to know her better.
I grabbed the plate and brought it to my nose, God they smelled great. I couldn't wait to get inside and try one, but as I tried to slowly stand up I realised that - with the position I was in and my son still laying heavily on one side of my body - I could not stand up.
I could feel my legs wobble when I tried to move. Maybe if I moved sideways, slowly, and then tried to stand that way; or if I tried to jump up very quickly, I might get up; however I guess my legs could not handle the amount of time because my legs gave way, and I fell backwards onto my ass. I grabbed Anthony quickly moving him to my chest so that his body didn't hit the ground- which resulted in my falling down with my back and head hitting the patio ground. God, these cookies better be worth it, I thought, surprised I had managed not to drop the plate during my fall.
"Hey, Bro." Emmett chuckled, appearing out of nowhere. "You alright there?"
"Hey, how's Bella?" I cursed at myself. I didn't even make it into the house before I brought up her name. What the hell is wrong with me?
Emmett just chuckled again at me. "She's alright now."
"Good."
"Why are you laying on the ground?" I could hear the amusement in his voice; he was trying hold in his laughter so that he didn't wake Anthony up.
"I fell trying to pick up Bella's cookies." I answered. "Can you take Ants for me?" Emmett took him from my arms with one arm and the plate of cookies with the other. I stared at how easy it was for him, he was carrying Anthony as if he weighed nothing.
"Thanks." I laughed.
I opened the door, took Anthony from Emmett, and made my way up the stairs. "I'll just be a sec, Em."
"No probs." He waved me off. I could hear him moving around in the kitchen probably hunting for the beer.
After I changed Anthony's sleeping body into his nightwear and tucked him into his bed, I found Emmett sitting in living room, beer in one hand and one of Bella's cookies in the other. I grabbed myself a bottle and settled in the chair beside him.
We sat quietly for a while before Emmett broke the silence. "So, Leah any good on the piano?"
I nodded my head, taking a sip of my beer. "She's a natural, it took her roughly twenty minutes to get all the basics and learn Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. You should have seen her little eyes light up whenever she got the notes correct."
"Yeah, she's amazing." He added. I watched as several emotions crossed his face: pride, joy, sadness, excitement, but mostly love.
"Dad told me about Jacob." I decided to just tell what I already knew, hoping he'd give me more information.
"I guessed he would, but that's not why Bella reacted the way she did today though, well maybe it did a little. Leah is all Bella has left of Jake." I nodded in understanding, but he never looked at me, he just stared at the television. I knew that it must be hard for him to talk about Jacob, he has been my best friend for years and he had never mentioned him.
"Why did she react that way then?" I got straight to the point, my curiosity taking over. "I know why she was upset, that's understandable, but why did she accuse me of kidnap even after you told her who I was?"
Emmett made a deep sigh, putting his head in his hands and pulled at his short curly hair.
"Please don't interrupt me because I only want to tell this story once, I can't tell you everything because it's Bella's story to tell you, if she wants, but I'll tell the basics." I nodded my head at him again agreeing to request.
"Okay."
He took another deep breath and turned his body to face me. I copied him knowing that I needed to be comfortable as I could, I had a feeling this may take a while.
"Okay, for about three years, after Jake died, Rosie and I had been trying to get Bella to move on and start dating again. Bella is an amazing woman and we believed that she and Leah deserved someone to love them and cherish them. I still do, but Bella always refused saying that she was not ready."
"Wait, who's Rosie?" Emmett glared at me for interrupting but answered me anyway.
"Rosalie is Bella's best friend from Phoenix. Don't interrupt." He continued still glaring at me. "Last year, Bella finally decided to go on a date with a guy she met at work. He had been asking her out for months so she finally agreed. After the date Bella said that there were no feelings there, and that she just wanted to be friends with him. James had agreed with her, and they soon become really good friends. Everything was good until Bella went on a date with some other guy. She then started getting flowers sent to her door and chocolates delivered to her work. The one thing about Bella, is that she doesn't see herself clearly, she's never believed that she was beautiful or all that. She always said that she was plain and boring, no matter how many times Jake told her she was wrong, she still never believed him; but I don't need to tell you how beautiful she really is." He added looking at me with a smirk on his face. I turned my head away from him with a small smile. Nope he didn't need to tell me, I could safely put my hands up and say that she was defiantly the most beautiful women that I've ever seen.
"So she couldn't understand why someone was sending her gifts. The gifts continued for a while, but then they started become personal; like photos of she and Leah at a park or grocery shopping. Charlie went down and put in security alarms in her house, and made her take pepper spray everywhere with her. Things started to get out of control when letters arrived at her door and text messages on her phone. You know the stuff I'm talking about; we've had to deal with stalkers before."
I nodded my head not wanting to interrupt.
"Senna, Bella's neighbour, had been watching Leah since Bella went back to college after Leah was born; so it was natural for her to watch her while Bella was a work. Bella went to Senna's to pick Leah up like she did every day. Senna told her that she was having her afternoon nap, but when Bella went to get her, Leah was not there."
I clenched my fists tightly as nausea filled my stomach. I knew what had happened without Emmett having to tell me. Someone had taken that innocent little girl from her bed. How could someone do that? Leah must have been so scared. I continued to listen to Emmett and tried to ignore the anger building inside me.
"We looked everywhere, but no one had seen her. Two days after she was taken, Bella got a call from James saying that he may have an idea of where Leah was and that she had to come right away. When Bella got to the location, James trapped her and Leah inside a wooden cabin, claiming that she was his, and that he was never letting her go."
"That son of bitch, he took Leah." I yelled. I was a police officer, so I was able to fill in the blanks quickly. I was on my feet pacing back and forth behind my sofa. I was too angry to just sit and listen to Emmett. Images of Leah and Bella tied up filled my head, and my heart ached for them. I knew they were next door safe, but the nausea was climbing up my throat, tears filling my eyes. I cannot begin to image how they must have felt, no wonder Bella reacted the way she did today.
"James underestimated Bella, he had forgotten that she grew up with two boys and has a cop for a father. Not only had she left the address that he gave her, on her kitchen table, but she fought him off, knocked him unconscious long enough to get Leah and get out of the cabin."
He finally looked up at me, his eyes still held the pain from that day. I ran my hand through my hair, my head hurt and was overloaded with all the information that I had gotten today. There was so much to process.
"Fuck, Em. I… I…" I had no idea what to say to him right now, my imagination was in overdrive of what had happened to them, Bella fighting James off, Leah being kidnapped. Fuck she was kidnapped by someone they knew and trusted.
"I know, maybe I should go and let you process it all. It's been a long day." He stressed.
"Yeah I guess you right. I just… argh, I really want to punch something right now." I ground my teeth together, as the anger rolled off my body.
"Imagine how I felt when it happened?" He sighed, lifting his huge body off my couch and headed towards the front door. "You're going to have to give Bella time to trust you with Leah, alright? She will come around eventually, and wait a couple of days before you start hounding me with questions. We have that training course next week so we can talk about it then if you want to know anymore."
"Fuck, I forgot all about that." I mumbled banging my head against the wall. "I still haven't talk to Anthony yet."
"You have to tell him."
"I know, I will." I answered. This is only Tuesday; I still have a few days to find the courage to tell my son that I had to leave him for a whole week. I had a feeling tomorrow was going to be another long day.
I said goodnight to Emmett, had a quick shower, and made my way to bed. My body felt drained and heavy, as my mind still processed all the information I had learned about Bella today. She had to be one of the strongest people I have ever met to have gone through everything she went through over that last few years. I would have fallen apart if anything happened to Anthony; he was my life, my reason to exist.
With a now heavy heart I dragged my heavy body into my son's room. After hearing how easily Leah was taken I needed to be beside my son tonight. To feel his body curled next to mine. Carefully I lifted him in my arms, carried him to my room, and wrapped my body around his.
"Daddy, what are you doing?" He slurred sleepily.
"Can you sleep beside Daddy tonight? He needs you." I whispered my voice deep and thick, I was trying not to let the tears fall and scare him.
"Ah huh." He placed his little head against my chest and an arm around my torso holding me against him. "Love you, Daddy."
"I love you too son, so much." I whispered back finally letting the tears silently fall. I made myself a silent promise: to not only protect the life that was sleeping in my arms, but to also protect the two precious souls that lived next door.