We laid like that for a few more minutes before he woke up. I looked right into his beautiful green eyes.
He smiled and said, "Morning love"
I looked away unsure what to say.
He pulled away almost instantly, "I'm sorry, I just…" He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, "For a moment, I forgot about everything. I…" He looked down at the floor, "I thought it was all a bad dream for just a moment. I'm sorry."
"I understand" I sat up.
He stood up and walked away from the fireplace. I stood up a few seconds later and headed up to the bedroom to get dressed. When I got back downstairs Edward was fully dressed and looked like he was ready to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"We" He emphasized that word, "are going out to breakfast."
"That sounds nice. Just let me grab my coat."
It didn't take long to drive to the small diner a few miles from the house. Breakfast with Edward was really nice. He explained to me that this diner was the first place we ate at when we first moved here. I found myself wishing desperately that I could remember it. But I didn't have any success. After breakfast Edward drove us home. When we got back to the house Edward started to clean up the living room from the night before. I offered to help but he insisted on doing it himself. I spent most of the day reading on a chair in the living room while he looked over some patient files.
It was nice having a calm day. The past few days had been so hectic that I was having trouble processing it all. Now that I finally had time to myself it all hit me. A couple of weeks had changed so much. I had gone from living in a huge house with no kids and an overprotective husband to living in a big house with two kids and a very sweet and patient husband.
"Bella" I felt a hand touch my shoulder, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah"
"Are you sure? You've been on the same page for ten minutes."
"Just lost in thought"
"Okay" He put a hand under my chin and guided my head until I was looking at him, "If you need anything, I'm here."
I was about to turn back to my book but then I thought of something, "Actually there is something you can do."
He quickly grabbed my hand and replied, "Anything"
"Come back to bed" I took a deep breath, "Last night was the first good night sleep I've had in days. I think it was because of you."
"I think I can do that." He smiled.
I smiled and went back to my book.
That night I took a shower before bed. When I got to the bedroom Edward was sitting on the bed checking his laptop. I climbed into bed as he was turning it off. When the lights were out I cuddled up closer to Edward. He wrapped one arm around me tightly and I drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Edward went back to work 13 days later. His first day back I felt kind of lost. He had made sure to leave directions to everybody's house in case I got lonely. He told me that somebody was always home. While brushing my hair I looked in the mirror. I had been avoiding it because I knew my face was badly bruised and I didn't want to look at it. Enough time had passed that the bruise was mostly healed but it was still slightly visible. I stopped staring when I heard Elizabeth calling for help getting out of bed. When me and Edward first put the kids in those beds we made it very clear that they had to ask for help getting in and out of bed.
I got the kids out of bed and took them down to the kitchen for breakfast. When I did I jumped. I could have sworn I saw James looking through the kitchen window. I ignored it and made the kids breakfast. After breakfast I took them to the living room to play. I thought I saw James in the window again. This time I couldn't ignore it. I grabbed the directions Edward had given me and the kids and headed for the garage. I quickly got the kids in the car then ran back for my purse. Once I was in the car I opened the garage door using the remote and backed out of the driveway.
I drove to Emmett's house. He was the closest and even though I couldn't remember him very well, I knew he would protect me. By the time I made it to his house I had tears streaming down my face. Once there I very quickly got the kids out of the car and practically dragged them to the front porch. I slammed on the door franticly. When Emmett answered the door he immediately pulled me inside, shut the door, and locked it.
"Bella, what's wrong?" He looked ready to kill somebody.
"I think I saw him."
"Who?"
"James"
He pulled me into his arms, "It's going to be okay, I promise. Edward told me that you hurt him pretty badly and that he was probably dead. Are you sure it was him?"
"I don't know. I guess it could have been my imagination."
"Well, either way, I want you and the kids to stay here until Edward gets home."
"Thank you"
"You don't have to thank me. You're my sister. I will do anything for you." He let go of me, "Sit down on the couch. I will be right back."
"Okay"
He walked down the hall with the kids and I was left alone. I went and sat on the couch like he had told me to. I tried desperately to calm down. He came back a couple minutes later.
"I called Edward. He is going to come by after work. The kids are in the bedroom with Michael." He came and sat next to me, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a little freaked out." I took a deep breath, "I don't know what came over me. I have just been so sheltered over the past couple of weeks and when I got left alone, I just couldn't handle it."
"I know. Everybody knows that this must be hard on you." He looked down, "I've been thinking. Maybe you should get recertified."
"I don't understand."
"I already called the school. They said that a teacher is retiring after this year. They said the position is yours if you want it and the teacher that is retiring offered to tutor you to pass your tests. They are offering you your dream job."
"You mean I'd be teaching Shakespeare, Jane Austin!"
"You remember"
"I don't know how."
"You always said that school was your little world. You loved that place almost as much as you loved Edward. It makes sense that you would remember."
"I'll do it" I smiled.