A/N: Thanks to team Shiffy!
Ages! Everyone has been asking for ages. Bella is 17, the rest of the crew are in their mid 20s xx
Chapter 16
Edward and I sat on the deck, talking for hours about anything and everything. I really enjoyed being in his company. Things were so much easier now that I had let my guard down. It wasn't until it grew dark outside that I realized I better head home. "I should go," I said, standing up and grabbing my bag.
"I'll walk you," Edward said, quickly getting to his feet.
I shook my head. "No. It's okay, you don't have to."
"I don't have to, but I want to."
"I can look out for myself," I stated. Okay, so I hadn't lowered all my defenses yet.
"I know you can," Edward said, cupping my face, "but just because you can, doesn't mean you should, and anyway Jasper would kick my ass if he know I'd let you walk home on your own."
I sighed in defeat, knowing that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Jasper drove me over here earlier," I said, as we made our way out of the house, into the street. "He warned me, ya know, about hurting you."
"He did?" Edward asked, surprised.
"He said you had worked too hard to achieve everything you have to get caught up in my shit."
Edward frowned. "Sounds like Jasper needs to go easier on you."
I shrugged. "I guess I don't blame him. I've put his family through a lot and I mean, who wants to bring a dysfunctional teenager to live with them when they're expecting a baby? But he would rather have me there with him than see me out on the street. I pushed his mom to the tipping point. She wants nothing more to do with me. Jasper wasn't left with a choice."
"You were hurting, Bella."
"Yeah."
"We all do crazy shit when we're hurting."
"You sound like you're talking from experience."
"I am."
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
"No," he said, shaking his head, his face full of sadness. "Not tonight, another time perhaps."
I nodded. I wouldn't push him. It wasn't like I was so willing to open up all of my wounds and talk about them. I guess maybe that was why he was so understanding of me. He had been there. He had lived it.
We walked along in silence, the rest of the way to Jasper's house. When we reached the driveway, we stopped and turned to stare at each other, each of us waiting for the other to speak. Eventually Edward broke the silence.
"Can I see you tomorrow?"
I bite my lip, staring up at him. "Maybe you will," I smirked, "maybe you won't."