A/N: These ladies make TLC the absolute best it can be: SSHG316, SavageWoman and Irritable Grizzzly. I would probably look very foolish if it weren't for the expertise each of them brings to making this story great. Thanks ladies for all the hard work you do for me, even when I'm pushing to get an update posted. Thanks for giving so freely of your personal time. It is more than I deserve, but I am truly appreciative.
TRUST, LOYALTY, COMMITMENT
Chapter 32 — Lover, You Should Have Come Over
Edward cringed internally as he heard Renee address Bella in a manner he knew he couldn't get away with in a million years. She didn't look angry, just rather surprised to see him. Bella's face was scrubbed clean, but she was even more beautiful than she had been when he left her that morning, if that was even possible. He didn't wait for her to respond to her mother's command. In a heartbeat, he crossed the room and had her in his arms. She hugged him back, and the feeling of emptiness began slowly ebbing away as he held her against him.
His hunger to communicate with her, to hold her, was exacerbated by them merely honoring the self-imposed separation. It was magnified even more by her refusal to take his calls. Now, he was engulfed by a wave of relief and calm. Not letting her go for a second, he picked her up and swung her feet onto the floor.
Renee was quietly closing the door behind her as he turned with Bella in his arms, and even if her mother had remained in the room, he would have still kissed her like he was a starving man. Her response was immediate and so intense it knocked the wind out of both of them. They emerged for air panting, yet holding one another firmly, the emotion in their hearts manifesting in their eyes.
"Bella..." he began and stopped to kiss her again, softer and gentler this time. Within seconds, they were caught up in each other. When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I've been angry, stubborn, and irrational all day," she whispered. "I acted like such a... a brat."
"Shhh," he said kissing her all over her face. "We should have discussed it with you, rather than handing down an edict. I'm sorry, too." He ran his hands up and down her arms over the sleeves of her flannel pajama top.
Bella looked down at what she was wearing and grinned sheepishly. "These are my go-to pajamas when I'm depressed."
"Baby, you could be wearing a county jail jumpsuit right now and I wouldn't care. I just wanted to say goodnight and tell you that I love you, but you wouldn't answer your phone and it made me insane."
She cupped his face. "I really am sorry. Logically, I knew what I was doing was stupid, but I couldn't stop myself. I should have told you this morning how I really felt, but I was too busy trying to change your mind."
He pulled her down to sit beside him on the bed. "Bella you have to promise me you'll answer when I call you. I can't concentrate when you ignore me like that, and if I can't get in touch with you, I'll come find you, and that could blow our cover."
"You're right," she agreed, threading their hands together.
Edward squeezed her to his side and kissed her temple. "I know I can act like a freaking caveman sometimes, but it's only because I want to protect you. If anything happened to you..."
"I know, and I'll curb my irrational, if you'll curb your caveman."
"Deal," he said as he took her hand and swooped in to kiss her again. Then he reluctantly broke away and gazed at her soberly. "You know—I never got a chance to give you your final birthday present..."
Bella began protesting. "You've given me too much already. Not to mention everything I got from our friends and families. You should return it and get your money back."
"That's going to be rather difficult."
"Why? Don't tell me you lost the receipt."
"Well, not exactly..."
"They could give you a store credit, or you could keep it and give it to me for Christmas or something."
"I didn't buy it from a store."
"Oh, well, if it's something you made for me, then I'll take it."
"No, I didn't make it. It was given to me."
"Why Edward Cullen, who would have thought you'd be a re-gifter? I mean, I do that sometimes, but only if it's something I know my friends will appreciate more than I would—"
Edward kissed her and cut off her rambling. "So, are you gonna let me give you this gift now?"
"What is it?"
"It's kind of a family heirloom," he explained carefully. "Something that belonged to my grandmother."
"Oh," she said weakly, searching his eyes. "Is it jewelry?"
He smiled, looking at her intently. "Yes."
"Is it earrings?"
"No."
"A necklace?"
"No."
"A bracelet?"
"No."
"A-a r-ring?"
"Yes."
Her breath hitched as she began to tremble, her voice shaking. "W-what kind?"
"Before I answer that, let me tell you how I would have given this to you on your birthday if we'd never been interrupted."
She swallowed nervously. "Okay."
"We would have had that cake and champagne." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Then we would have danced to songs by Corinne Bailey Rae or Nina Simone." He stood up, still holding her hands, as he held her gaze, watching her eyes flicker with emotion. "Then I would have said, 'Isabella Marie, loving you is the best thing to ever happen to me. I want to spend the rest of our lives thanking you for showing me how to begin the journey of saving myself.'" He knelt down on one knee, as her expression registered shock and surprise, tears spilling hot and fast down her cheeks. "Will you complete my salvation by becoming my wife?'"
Bella flung herself so forcefully into his arms, they almost toppled to the floor, but Edward steadied them both as she blurted her answer. "Yes, yes, yesss..." Then he silenced her with a kiss, embracing her with one arm as he rummaged in his pocket for the ring, which he quickly retrieved and presented to her, box and all, when they came up for air.
With shaking hands, Bella opened it and gasped. "Edward, it's so beautiful."
"But it pales in comparison to you," he said, planting a kiss on her forehead. She took the ring from the box and was about to jam it onto her finger, but then thought better of it.
"Here." She gave it to him and extended her hand. "You do it." Her voice was filled with so much emotion, Edward could feel his own eyes misting up.
He took her finger and slid off the promise ring her father had given her when she was thirteen, and slipped on his grandmother's ring. "Thank you," he said huskily, and despite all the effort he exerted to prevent it, a sob escaped him.
Bella immediately held his face in her hands and peppered it with kisses as she tasted their intermingled tears.
When he released her, he held her promise ring in his open hand, and they both looked at it. "Thank you for allowing me to be the man to remove this ring and replace it with my own," he said. "I wanted you to know that, even though we have to be apart right now, I do intend to make you my wife as quickly as possible after this is all over. I love you so much, Bella."
"I love you, too." She leaned into him and kissed him until their tears dissolved. They collapsed on her bed a mass of arms and legs, straining to get as close as humanly possible.
Heavy footsteps on the stairs reminded them they were in her parent's house, so Edward quickly stood and hauled Bella up with him. She took her promise ring, and they approached the door together.
Before Rev. Swan could even knock, they opened the door and Bella raised her left hand and held her promise ring out to him in her other, like an offering. "Dad, you gave this to me ten years ago yesterday and told me that the man who was worthy of me would replace it. Edward is that man, and I'm going to be his wife."
A shadow crossed Charlie's eyes fleetingly, but then he saw how ecstatically happy his daughter was, he broke into a huge grin. "Well..." Charlie began, and then Bella was in his arms. Edward watched as Charlie closed his eyes as if in prayer, and then tears streamed down his face. The scene was so charged, that when Edward looked away, he was surprised to find Renee there sniffling and wiping her own tears away.
Renee held out her arms. "Congratulations," she said as she hugged him tight, and then looked into his eyes with a watery grin. "Finally, I've got me a son-in-law!"
"Oh my gosh," Bella said rolling her eyes, as she pulled away from her father. "We won't be able to live with her now, will we, Dad?"
Charlie kissed her check and let her go. "No, we won't. She's been pining for a son-in-law since you graduated college. I don't know if I should thank you just yet, Edward."
"I'll thank you, then," Edward said as he extended a hand for him to shake, while Bella and her Mom hugged it out.
Charlie pretended to ignore Edward, and then he waved his hand away and pulled him in for a hug. Edward was so shocked, he was sure his eyes bugged out of his head. His future father-in-law was hugging him?
Bella and Renee saw his expression and laughed.
"Didn't I tell you he was a teddy bear?" Renee said with a wink.
Charlie released him and stepped back. "They just don't understand, Edward. I've been overwhelmed by estrogen for twenty three years. It's time I had some other men around to even out the hormones a little. You and Ben will be welcome additions to our family."
Renee glared playfully at her husband, who embraced her and gave her a peck on the lips. Bella floated over to Edward and took his hand.
As Renee and Charlie walked away, Renee called over her shoulder, "See you two downstairs in five minutes. We have a bottle of champagne on ice."
Bella was regarding Edward with so much love, he wanted to whisk her away to Vegas and get married right then and there, but he kissed her instead. This was a soul-searing, you're-mine-forever kind of kiss that they both felt in all their extremities. After a couple of minutes he finally found the will to step back.
"We'd better cool it."
"Oh, yeah, right," Bella said, and she backed away, but kept smiling up at him.
"How is it that you're not staring at your ring right now? Isn't that usually how these things go?" he said, touching her face. "Guy proposes to girl, gives her a ring, and she promptly ignores him and stares only at the bauble."
"Because the ring is not the prize," she said with a smile. "You are. I can see the ring anytime. Even when you're not around." Then she got serious. "But after tonight, who knows when I'll get to see you again?"
That was a classic Bella answer. Though she grew up in a home where she didn't want for anything, she was neither materialistic nor a snob. He had always been in awe of her ability to love people unconditionally, despite their race, creed, or socioeconomic background. The children and parents at the Center loved her for it. She was selfless and placed the well-being of those children above her own safety. He didn't know how to reconcile that yet, but since she had refused to leave them while the case was being resolved, they would need to figure that out... and quickly. This time he would make sure she was included in that discussion. Now that she was officially his fiancée, the stakes had infinitely increased. Bella had become his everything, his life—and his primary goal would be to protect her with everything in him.
~888~
Edward felt buoyant as he emerged from the shower, having scrubbed the tension of another day's work from his body. Bella had agreed to marry him! He was still so ecstatic he'd found it difficult not to walk around whistling at work. That was, until he thought of the danger she was still in, and that sobered him up quickly.
He had an appointment with Dr. Levy in an hour, but in the meantime he would decompress and clear his head. He wanted to revel just for a few moments in being an engaged man looking forward to a future with his bride-to-be. The remedy for that was sought on the keys of his Baby Grande. He smiled, remembering that he played for Bella only a few days before, and as they'd developed the habit of doing, she'd sat with him. Her favorite game was seeing how many ways she could touch him before he missed a note.
He frowned as he wondered how long it would be before she'd be sitting beside him on the bench again, while he deftly played something appropriate to celebrate his upcoming nuptials: Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro: Non So Piu, Cosa Son. As he was building to a crescendo, his cell phone rang. He stopped abruptly, stood, and fished it out of his pocket.
The number looked vaguely familiar.
"Hello," he said warily.
"Edward," a pleasant motherly voice said. "I got your message. I would scold you for not calling me earlier, but I realized I left home in a rush and never gave you my sister's number."
"Reisa?" He'd called Mrs. Featherstone and left a message with her sister, and had planned to call her again, but then all hell had broken loose.
"It's been too long. How have you been? When we last talked you were about to take a new job patrolling a neighborhood surrounding a community center."
"Yeah, I did take that job, but so much has happened since then. I'm temporarily back at the precinct."
"I hope that's going well."
"Not really, but I don't want to go into that just yet. Jared was here this week and I have to warn you, our reunion was not particularly amicable."
"What has my hot-headed son done now? I swear you and he could be blood the way he acts whenever I mention you—so jealous of our relationship."
"He brought me a check for almost the entirety of what I gifted you over the years and told me not to send any more. Is this how you feel, too, Reisa?"
There was a pause, and then Edward heard the irritation in her voice. "Wait a minute...Jared gave you money?"
"I still have the check, which I want to send back to you, if you'll take it."
"What—why, of course, I'll take it. I'm not sure what Jared said to you, but I'm going to get to the bottom of it. He can't just decide to return what you've given me from your heart."
"I always thought he was either very quiet or uncomfortable around me before, but I never thought he harbored such resentment. I had no idea what Paul was going to do that day. Jared feels like it should have been me."
"That was Paul's decision, Edward, and God doesn't make mistakes. Jared will have to accept it and move on. He would say things sometimes when you were around, or when I talked to you on the phone, but I thought he was just being territorial—jealous that his mother was giving attention to another child. You became the son of my heart when Paul died. Jared will not dictate whether I can have a relationship with you."
"I'll have Garrett send the check back to you immediately. Where is Jared now?" Edward wanted to know if he was still in or around the Tallahassee area.
"He's in Jacksonville. How close is that to you?"
Edward's heart sank. He would have to look into Jared's whereabouts from the time he left Tallahassee until now, but he didn't want to worry Reisa unless there was a reason. "Only a couple of hours."
Steering the conversation to a less tense subject, he chatted with Mrs. Featherstone until he had to leave for Dr. Levy's office. It saddened him, for her sake, that he was suspicious of Jared, and that he couldn't tell her about Bella just yet. Instead, he peppered her with questions, catching up on what she'd been up to since they'd last spoken. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to break her heart yet again.
~888~
Edward couldn't wait to tell Dr. Levy his good news. Considering that he couldn't really tell anyone else he was engaged, his therapist would have to do. Oddly, the receptionist had him sit in the waiting room for a while, which ticked him off a little because he was anxious to get the session over with so he could get back to work.
Finally, he was ushered into Dr. Levy's office, and they did their perfunctory handshake, but something was a little off. The first red flag was the way he was addressed.
"Edward, my man!" The usually quiet and professional Ira Levy ushered him in boisterously and gestured to a seat. The man was totally wired. "Take a seat. How are things?"
Edward narrowed his eyes but shook the greeting off and took a seat. "Good, good. A lot has happened since our last session, and I wanted you to be the first to know—well, actually you're one of the only people I can tell right now—I asked Bella to marry me Tuesday night, and she said yes." Edward chuckled in spite of himself.
"Wow," the doctor exclaimed, laughing a little too loudly. "That is exciting news, man. It's just perfect for what I have planned. I was gonna see if you wanted to celebrate the progress we've made, but you've done us one better—we can also celebrate your engagement."
This was really weird. While they had gotten on friendly terms, Dr. Levy had never done anything to encourage a friendship, particularly during a session, when he needed to maintain an air of professionalism. However, Edward didn't voice his apprehension, figuring he'd just go with it. "What did you have in mind? I do need to get back to work soon."
Dr. Levy hopped up and went to a tray on his credenza. Edward was surprised to see that he had a couple of decanters of what looked like alcohol, and a couple of glasses. He'd never noticed this before, but now that he thought about it, perhaps it had always been there.
"Let's begin by knocking a few back, buddy," Dr. Levy said, sounding like he'd already enjoyed a few too many.
Edward was appalled. Dr. Levy sounded so much like his father. His adrenaline spiked, and a memory that he hadn't dwelled on in a very long time came rushing back to him. He was fifteen, and his innocence was about to be shattered.
He'd been back living with his father for almost two months, and his behavior had become increasingly vulgar, but Edward didn't dare mention it to his mother or she'd have him shipped back to Crawfordville posthaste. He figured living in his father's den of debauchery was the lesser of two evils.
As per usual, Edward Cullen, Sr. was trashed and partying with his flavor of the month, Jill, a silicone blonde, and her sister, Janet. Edward had just finished his homework and emerged from his room to see what all the commotion was about.
"Hey buddy, come on, knock back a few with your old man," his dad slurred. Jill was attached to his father's neck like she was a freaking vampire. Janet, a reasonably attractive brunette who looked to be in her twenties, was sprawled on the sofa watching TV on mute and nursing a beer as rock music played incessantly in the background.
Having spent most of his life in his mother's tee-totaling household, Edward politely declined. "No thanks, Dad," he mumbled. "What are we having for dinner?"
His father looked confused for a moment. "Oh, I thought we already had dinner." He frowned and fished in his back pocket for his wallet. Taking out a credit card, he pushed it toward Edward, but it wobbled in his hand and dropped to the floor. Edward picked it up. "Order take-out, son. Will ya?"
When the food arrived, Edward signed for it and took everything into the kitchen where he fixed himself a plate, sat down, and devoured a hearty portion of it, as teenage boys do. He went to the fridge to grab a soda, and as he was popping the tab he turned around to find Janet invading his personal space. The drink spewed like a geyser, drenching them both.
She gasped and then burst into laughter. Edward was embarrassed and apologized profusely.
"I'm so sorry, miss. I didn't know...I think someone shook it…"
She grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped herself down. "It's okay, sweetie. I've been spewed by worse. And call me Janet." She laughed again, and Edward could smell beer and cigarettes on her breath, which made him a little nauseated. He stepped back, but she stepped forward, effectively cornering him between her and the refrigerator door.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Edward."
"You're kind of cute, Edward," she said as she wiped the soda from his clothes. She brushed repeatedly over his crotch, and he sprang a boner harder than granite. So many emotions were raging through him, along with all his teenage hormones. Embarrassed that he couldn't control himself, he tried to leave, but she blocked his exit and slowly removed the soda can from his hand and set it in the sink.
The next thing he knew, she was kneeling in front of him, opening his fly, and giving him his first blowjob.
He could see Dr. Levy's lips moving and knew he was talking, but he had to struggle to actually hear what he was saying.
"Maybe after our session, we could go over to the Discreet Elite Gentlemen's Club. Whaddya say?"
This triggered Edward so thoroughly he felt like he was about to pop a blood vessel. "Are you asking me to go to a fucking strip club? I expect shit like that from douchebags like my father, but not from you!" Like a feral animal, he was out of his seat and pulling Dr. Levy up by his collar before he realized what he was doing.
"Edward... Edward, it's okay," Dr. Levy said anxiously. "Do you remember—we discussed using this type of intervention a while ago?"
His eyes blinking frantically, Edward nodded as understanding returned, and he took a deep breath.
Dr. Levi's voice was again the soothing, calming one Edward had grown accustomed to. "There was something that triggered this reaction in you. Let's get to the bottom of it."
Edward was reliving all his early days when he had gone to live with his father. Those memories had been buried deeply in his subconscious and were hazy and surreal, but suddenly it was all very clear. Dr. Levy led him back to his seat on the couch, and Edward shared every sordid detail from his past that he could conjure.
About a week after Janet had introduced him to fellatio, he'd lost his virginity to her. A few months later, hisfather dumped her sister for someone else, and he never saw her again. However, she had given him all the confidence he'd needed to pursue girls at his new school; to seek from them the only closeness to other human beings he had in those tumultuous years. Through high school, he had a steady stream of girls, from his and neighboring schools, parading through his father's house. When his dad discovered he was sexually active, his reaction was to spur him on, and Edward wanted to please his father. He'd believed that if he modeled his father's behavior, perhaps he would miraculously become the parent he craved.
But that never happened. An embarrassing episode with an STD when he was sixteen necessitated a professional visit to his uncle. He admonished Edward in his fatherly, yet clinical fashion that he should always, always, always use protection. Carlisle had suspicions that his brother's way of parenting was horrendously lacking, but he was never able to get Edward to open up to him about it until it was too late. The only familial love Edward experienced had been when he resumed spending several weeks of his summers with his Uncle Carlisle and his family.
Edward relayed to Dr. Levy about how his father had been a high-functioning alcoholic. He kept his job and managed to fool all his colleagues and friends, but lived a secret life that was visible only to his impressionable young son. While living the dysfunction, Edward had grown to believe that his life was perfect. He was able to do whatever he wanted without any parental repercussions, and the sex was something he thought of as a bonus.
Loving Bella now the way that he did, he was staggered by the sheer number of women he'd used, and had used him. He felt like he wanted to toss his cookies as he came face-to-face with the reality of what he had been.
"What do you think the sex replaced in your life?" Dr. Levy asked quietly.
"How the hell should I know? You're the psychologist." Edward was pissed-off for reasons unfathomable to him, and quickly losing his shit. It would either result in him destroying something, or weeping like a fucking baby.
Dr. Levy pressed on. "Any closeness you had with your mother was stolen by your stepfather and the cult. You went to live with your father, and there was no real nurturing there, either. What were you looking for in the sex?"
"It was the only time I felt wanted—when I was physically close to another individual like that. Later, it was all I'd ever known. It was comfortable, convenient. I didn't want to be close to anyone emotionally, because it hurt too much."
He told Dr. Levy how he'd been excited about graduating and finally going to college, knowing that he wanted to major in music, but his father had belittled his career choice while in one of his drunken rages. "That was your mother's profession. The very least you could do is pick a man's job." Then to make matters worse, his father's wife had been making overtures toward him for quite some time, but he always had enough female attention and wasn't looking to bed his father's wife. Even being the manwhore that he was, he'd had standards and would only go so far. That was a line he'd had no interest in crossing.
Dr. Levy went to the whiteboard next to his desk. "How did you view the power structure in the relationship with your father, Edward?" He drew a stick figure as tall and as big as half the board, and then drew a tiny one, which was probably a tenth of the size of the first figure. "Which one was you and which one was your dad?"
"My father had always been the big guy; he never let me forget that. Even though I'd seen him pissed drunk and puking his guts out more times than I could remember, he insisted that he was always the one in control. He withheld my college fund because I wouldn't agree to declare engineering as my major. Then he wouldn't believe me when I told him his wife was more interested in fucking me than him."
"That was a perception he conveyed to you, not the reality." Dr. Levy wrote "Edward" under the big figure and "Edward Sr." under the tiny figure.
Edward shook his head dubiously, but Dr. Levy nodded. "You stayed in school and continued to practice your music despite an extremely unstructured home environment where you were debased and encouraged to accept that way of life as normal. You found alternate families with your Uncle and the Marine Corps, and they instilled a maturity in you that your father wasn't capable of doing. You chose law enforcement as your career, even after you were granted access to your trust fund and could have lived like a playboy for the rest of your life with no responsibilities. You are the young man who had every reason to hate organized religion, but you've embraced it again and you're facing your demons. You are in a monogamous relationship, something your father was never able to achieve. You are the honorable young man who should by every right never trust the institution of marriage, but you just proposed to the woman you love. You did this, Edward, not your father. Now who's the bigger man?"
It wasn't until a teardrop landed on his hand as he was clenching his knees, that Edward realized he was crying. He didn't recognize his own voice, he was so congested. "I-I want to be that man, for myself and for Bella. I just don't know if I am yet. It still scares me shitless that I'll disappoint her in some way."
Dr. Levy took a box of tissues out of a drawer in his credenza and offered it to Edward. "She knows all this, right?"
"Y-yes."
"And she hasn't run from you, has she?"
"No."
"She knows everything about you, yet she still loves you and wants you to be her husband and possibly father to her children."
"Am I really even strong enough to be somebody's father? I could suck at it, just as like my dad."
"I think deep-down you know this isn't true. You're not your father. You're stronger than he will ever be. He's reaping the 'rewards' of his past behaviors, while you are embarking on a new life. You have a chance to outshine him in every way."
Edward gestured toward the decanters. "If that's real liquor, I could really use a drink right now."
"It's tea, and no, you don't. That's a crutch for weaker men, like your father. You didn't do anything wrong. It was your father who was the absent parent and your father's wife who lied. It's time for you to face your father and show him that you don't need his approval and that you turned out just fine."
"I can't do that right now."
Edward then shared the new developments in the case and the reasons why he couldn't go to Indianapolis.
Dr. Levy cringed. "If I'd known all this, I would have saved this confrontational breakthrough therapy for later. I feel awful ambushing you like that. I didn't know."
"It's all good," Edward said. "Guess where my mother is right now?"
"Where?"
"In Indianapolis taking care of my father." Edward smiled wryly, knowing the question that was coming.
"How do you feel about that?"
"Like I told my Uncle Carlisle, if she wants to play nursemaid to his sorry ass, who am I to object?"
Dr. Levy persisted. "Now tell me how you really feel, without the sarcasm."
"Maybe if she can forgive him for the way he hurt her, surely I can muster understanding—something."
"Will you be okay, even if he never owns up to the way he treated you?"
Edward thought about it for a moment. "I believe I will. I have to let it go sometime."
~888~
The first thing Edward did when he got home was call Bella. They were engaged now; they could talk about any subject that might have been uncomfortable before. He smiled when he heard her voice.
"Hey, baby," she said. "Guess what I'm doing?"
He happily played along. "What?"
"Staring at my ring." She giggled and his smile grew wider.
"So, you finally got around to doing that?"
"Yeah, since I couldn't wear it to work, I put it on the minute I got home from class."
"Is it a viable substitute for the real thing?"
"Pshh, hardly!"
He chuckled. "Good answer."
"Hey, how was your session with Dr. Levy?"
"You want the truth?"
"Always."
"In a word: devastating."
"Oh baby, why?"
"He did this confrontational therapy thing he warned me about a couple of months ago that I'd forgotten all about. It was—not pretty."
"Did the end justify the means?"
"Yes."
"Then I forgive him for blindsiding you like that. Otherwise I might have had to hunt him down and junk-punch him for hurting my baby."
Edward laughed. "Says the preacher's daughter."
"I was a cop's daughter first. Why do I have to keep reminding you of this, Officer Cullen?"
"I didn't know you when you were a cop's daughter. But hey, I'll have to share this little exchange with Dr. Levy next session. I think he'd get a kick out of it."
"I feel like I know him almost as well as you do. I would like to meet him someday. Not in a professional capacity, mind you."
"Duly noted." He took a deep breath. "I love you, Bella. Thank you for loving me through all my crap."
"As my Grandpa Higgenbotham used to say, 'We all have crap, the only difference is the size of the load.' Of course, he said it in much more colorful terms. Anyway, I love you, too. I missed seeing you this afternoon, and it's only been a day."
"I miss you, too. Hopefully, it won't be long now before we have someone in custody. Captain Black approved the extra help, so there's three of us combing through old case files."
"That's good, right? It means we'll get our old lives back."
"Let's hope so."
"I can't wait 'til we can tell all our friends we're engaged. I'm going to love doing wedding stuff with Angela now."
"I'm sorry it has to be a secret. I wanted to shout it to the world the moment you said yes, but I had to settle for telling Dr. Levy. At least your parents know."
"You haven't called your mom, yet?"
"No, she'll call me when she's settled, I'm sure, and I guess I'll tell her then. I just hate keeping the rest of the family in the dark. Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle were more parental to me than my own parents."
"You do what feels comfortable. We're not going to say anything to Nana or Aunt Lonette for now, either."
"You know, the session today got me thinking."
"About?"
"Conversations we need to have now that we're engaged."
"My dad asked me all these questions at dinner tonight that got me thinking, too."
"Really? Like what?"
"Stuff that only a pastor would ask, like 'what about children?' and 'how will you handle finances?' and 'what are your conflict resolution styles?'"
"The latter two don't worry me so much, but the first one has me wondering. Do you really want to have children with me? They could be troubled at the very least, considering my dysfunctional gene pool. And I didn't have a great example, as you know."
"Edward... Baby, I have no doubt you'll be a phenomenal father someday, and yes, I want to have your babies, but can we just do a lot of what it takes to make them first—I mean, as a test run?"
Edward's heart felt like it might explode, he loved this woman so much. "Yeah, we will do a LOT of what it takes to make babies. I promise you that."
~888~
It was surprising to Bella when a month passed so quickly; she and Edward were reeling. While they had daily phone conversations after work, the physical separation was excruciating. Initially, their friends who were not privy to their secret were stymied about their mutual decision to give each other "space." Bella was torn about it in the beginning, but she even decided to withhold the truth from Angela. She knew if she told Angela, then Ben would have to be told, and both she and Edward felt that the less people who knew, the easier it would be to contain the secret. Eventually, the questions ceased, and they settled into acceptance.
Rosalie had taken to Edward's old position like a duck to water. The parents and children in the community warmed to her quickly, and they fell into a comfortable routine.
They were beginning to relax and almost believed the stalkers had given up. Bella was about to dismiss the children for the day one Friday, when Trey Jackson, a sixth grader, approached her.
"Ms. Bella?" She noticed that he was holding a red envelope. "This dude gave me five dollars and asked me to give this to you when it was time to go home."
Bella flushed, not sure if she should take the envelope or not. "What dude, Trey?"
"I don't know." He said it so fast it sounded like "I own no."
Bile rose in her throat, and she felt like she wanted to hurl, but she realized she had to hold it together for the children. She decided to dismiss everyone first. "Hold on just a second, Trey."
She raised her voice, hoping it didn't give away how nervous she was. "Okay guys, that's it for today. See you all tomorrow after school." She took her place at the door as they filed out, putting her hand on Trey's shoulder and holding him in place as the other children left.
She could see that Rosalie was off patrol and had taken her place in the parking lot, watching the children disperse.
After the last child filed out, Bella faced Trey. With a shaky hand, she reached for the envelope, watching him carefully. His eyebrows were in his hairline, and she realized her behavior might have him thinking he was in trouble. "Trey, you didn't do anything wrong, okay?" He nodded vigorously. "I need you to go ask Officer Hale to come back in now, please."
Trey took off toward the parking lot, and Bella almost collapsed when she stepped away from the door. Sean was closest to her and rushed over to steady her.
"Bella... Bella, what...?" He could see the fear and anguish in her face. Then he saw the creepy red envelope, and he knew.
He supported her by the elbow, and she held onto his forearm and pushed the letter into his hand. Maria and Demetri surrounded her seconds later, and Bella latched onto Maria like she was a life preserver.
"What happened?" Demetri asked, looking from Sean to Bella.
"It's just like the other one," Bella babbled, as Maria patted her back and made shushing noises. "Why don't they leave me alone? He's gone. He's not here—don't they know?"
"You want me to open it?" Sean asked softly.
"We should probably wait for Officer Hale," Maria answered for her.
Mrs. Williams, who had been with her longer than any of the volunteers, came over and slid between her and Maria. She put her arm around Bella's waist and walked her into her office. The volunteers all shared a look and then followed them inside.
"It's gon' be all right, baby," Mrs. Williams soothed. She walked Bella to her desk chair and helped her to sit down. "You need me to call Pastor Swan?"
Bella shook her head again. "Let's wait for Ro... Officer Hale," she managed to whisper.
Sean set the envelope on Bella's desk and stepped back from it like it was poison, or something. Mrs. Williams stood behind Bella's chair massaging her shoulders, as she tried to control her emotions by breathing deeply.
Rosalie stalked into the office, Trey trailing behind her. She took in the tension in the room, and then she followed everyone's gaze to the red envelope on Bella's desk.
She fished into her back pocket and retrieved a pair of latex gloves. Finding a letter opener in the pencil cup on Bella's desk, Rosalie sliced the flap open carefully.
Gingerly unfolding it by the corners, she laid the paper flat on the desk, and then motioned to Trey. "Maria, would you take Trey into the common room and wait there with him, please?"
Bella found her voice to add, "And please find his mother and let her know what's going on."
Reading the letter upside down as Rosalie studied it, the hairs stood up on the back of her neck and Bella lost the battle with the bile. She scurried quickly to her bathroom and lost her lunch, unfortunately, in the sink. Mrs. Williams was close behind her, rubbing her back, and holding her hair as the contents of her stomach clogged the sink. Tears sprang to her eyes as she continued to retch when nothing was left in her stomach.
She helped Bella sit on the lid of the toilet when it seemed the episode was over and then poured mouthwash in the bottle cap and handed it to Bella, who accepted it gratefully. No stranger to bodily fluids, Mrs. Williams, a retired Certified Nursing Assistant, donned rubber gloves and made quick work of cleaning the sink. After that was done, she gave Bella some privacy to clean her teeth and wash her face.
When Bella emerged from the bathroom, she saw Rosalie had bagged the letter and was on the phone. "Please have Officer Cullen call me immediately," she said grimly, ending the call and holding the chair while Bella sat down.
Demetri, Sean, and Mrs. Williams were still in the office, varying shades of emotion on their faces. Trey's mother had arrived, and Maria was talking quietly with her in the common room. Rosalie addressed the volunteers.
"Did any of you see any strange cars or people lurking around today?"
Nobody had.
"Could you guys stick around until Officer Cullen and his team gets here? I'm sure they'll have questions for you, and quite a few for Trey."
"Sure," Sean said eagerly as Demetri and Mrs. Williams nodded.
"I'll prepare the common room for Monday while we wait, Bella," Mrs. Williams said.
The note had given Bella quite a scare. She looked like she was a million miles away.
Rosalie nodded on Bella's behalf.
"We'll help, Mrs. W.," Demetri offered, and he and Sean followed Mrs. Williams out of the office, closing the door behind them.
Rosalie strode over to Bella and knelt until she was eye-level with her. "Bella?"
"Y-yeah."
"You okay?"
"I guess about as okay as I can be after someone has threatened to disembowel me and strip me of the ability to bear children." Her attempt at a joke fell flat.
"Bella, listen to me. That is not going to happen, you hear me?" Rosalie's eyes were hard as flint.
Bella fought back tears. "Okay."
Rosalie took both her shaking hands and squeezed them. "Now, you need to be prepared to see Edward, and you can't be like this or he'll freak the fuck out. What's it been, three weeks since you've seen him in the flesh?"
"Four," Bella said with a faintly bemused expression.
Rosalie smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "Try not to jump his bones, okay? Somebody could be watching."
~888~
A shadowed form moved unnoticed through the common room into the hall where the children's restrooms were located, pleased the others bought the excuse to leave the room. Closing the first available door and locking it, a cell phone was pulled out and a well-used number was speed-dialed.
"It was delivered."
"Oh really?" The person's sadistic pleasure was evident.
"Yeah, she lost her shit. Cullen and his team are on the way."
"Watch them closely. See if he's really kicked her ass to the curb, or if their break-up is just a smokescreen."
"I'm betting she refused to leave town like the other women in his family." A low chuckle echoed in the small space. "She's a spunky little thing."
"If I didn't know you better, I'd think even you've become an admirer of little Miss Swan. Maybe you always were."
Denial was swift – almost too swift. "Puh-lease. I'd better get back out there before that bitch cop comes out here and wonders where I am."
"Report back to me as soon as you can."
"It'll probably be an in-person report. I can't see this interrogation lasting very long. No way the kid recognized you."
"Okay, I'll have a reward for you later."
There was a lascivious smile. "I was counting on that."
~888~
E/N: Queue the cheesy dramatic music: Dun, dun, dun! Review and let me know who you think the stalkers are! And what do you think Edward will do?
This chapter title comes from a Jeff Buckley song. The following is an excerpt of the lyrics:
Lover, You Should Have Come Over
By Jeff Buckley
Maybe I'm too young
To keep good love from going wrong
But tonight, you're on my mind so
You never know
Broken down and hungry for your love
With no way to feed it
Where are you tonight?
Child, you know how much I need it.
Too young to hold on
And too old to just break free and run
Sometimes a man gets carried away,
When he feels like he should be having his fun
Much too blind to see the damage he's done
Sometimes a man must awake to find that, really,
He has no-one...
So I'll wait for you... And I'll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return?
Oh, will I ever learn?
Oh, Lover, you should've come over
Cause it's not too late.