A/N: Thanks to Tiffany & Sherry
I still haven't replied to reviews and we are into chapter 26. I feel terrible. I'm sorry. My time is in short supply, but the kids go back to school tomorrow. Yay! I will try to catch up this week. Just, please know that I treasure them. Thank you x
Chapter 26
"So what you making?" I asked, peering in the lid of the slow cooker, trying to figure out what lay inside.
"Tuscan Chicken Stew," Edward said, as he grabbed two plates and some cutlery. "It was my mom's favorite. She taught me how to make it."
"Was?" I asked, scrunching my face up. "Doesn't she like it anymore?"
Edward paused mid-step and slowly looked up at me, with a look I knew only too well. "My mom's dead, Bella."
"Oh," I gasped, "I'm sorry, I-ah, didn't…"
Edward placed his hand on mine. "It's okay, you didn't know."
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, unsure what else to say.
Edward shrugged. "What do you want to know?" he asked, placing the plates on the counter.
There was plenty I wanted to know, like how did she die. What age was he? Was that what had caused him to lose his shit? He had hinted about understanding me all too well as if he had once walked in my shoes, was that the reason why? I also wondered why he hadn't told me before, but I knew better than to pry. I knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of those questions. "I dunno," I said, taking a seat at the island.
Edward looked at me knowingly. "I was about your age when my mom passed away. She had cancer. They found abnormal cells during a regular pap test, but by the time that they had found them, it was too late. It had already claimed her body. Dad did everything he could to save her, of course, but she couldn't be saved."
My eyes filled with my water as I looked at him. I couldn't comprehend what it must have been like to watch your mother suffer and then die. Both of my parents had died in a horrible car accident. The officials said that they didn't suffer, that they had died instantly from their injuries, though I was never sure if they had just told me that to ease my pain. "I'm sorry," I said, reaching out for his hand again.
"It's okay," he said, taking my hand in his and pulling it to his lips. He placed a small kiss on my knuckles. "I won't say it gets easier because it doesn't. You just learn to… cope. You find something in each day that makes your life worthwhile, something that makes you smile and when you do that, it's a little less hard to breathe. So," he said, dropping my hand, "you ready to try some Tuscan Chicken Stew?"
I wiped the tears away from the side of my eyes, as I nodded. I knew then that this man was going to be my undoing. Was it possible for someone to be this perfect? Surely, he had to have some faults?