Today's song – Damini by USS
Shoot, who owns the Twilight universe again? I can't remember her name. Not. Thank you Miss Meyer for creating such fun characters for me to play with!
. . . . . . . . . .
As soon as I woke up I jumped into the shower and threw on a pair of nice jeans, a white dress shirt and an orange tie with a turkey on it.
Tanya fucking hated this tie, had actually tried to throw it out, but I loved it. It was a gift from my mom.
I grabbed the case of bottles of wine I had picked up, threw on my coat, and was stepping into the town car Riley had sent for me within an hour.
Bella said I could come over as early as I wanted. She didn't seem surprised in the slightest to see me knocking on her door at nine in the morning.
I knew she'd already be up.
"Hey beautiful," I purred, stepping inside and wrapping my arms around her. She smiled, resting her hands on my chest as I leaned into kiss her.
"Hmm, good morning," she said happily, smiling back at me brightly.
"I hope I didn't come too early?"
"No, I was debating driving over and waking you up so I could see you sooner." She thumbed my tie, grinning as she inspected it. "Cute."
I chuckled, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. Something beeped, and her mood shifted like a switch had been hit as she pushed me away and dashed to her kitchen. I slid off my shoes, and followed after her to see her taking a small tray of tea biscuits out of her oven. I groaned as I finally took a moment to take in her outfit.
"What's wrong?"
"What are you wearing?"
She smiled. "I thought you said you liked this look?" she teased, doing a little pirouette to show off her outfit. She was wearing a tight black skirt that had a very long slit up the side, and was wearing a thin white blouse with a red silk camisole underneath. The top few buttons were undone, giving me a peek of the red lace and a hint of her cleavage.
And she was wearing her hair down, it was perfectly straight and smooth like water.
"I knew it. You are trying to kill me." She rolled her eyes, turning back to the counter to set down her tray.
"Have you eaten yet?"
"Erm, no," I said, grinning sheepishly. The thought hadn't even occurred to me.
"Well, I got fresh biscuits and fruit salad," she said setting the basket down, and setting some dishes knowingly in front of me as I took a seat. She set down a big bowl of cut up fruits, along with butter and jams, and told me to dig in.
God, I loved this woman. Thinking those words a few months ago would have had me running for the hills, but now it was the only word that could come close to describing my feelings, and it was everything that meant anything in my life now. I knew that it was probably a little unhealthy how attached I had gotten to her, but I really didn't fucking care.
"Mimosa?" she asked, taking a bottle of champagne and some orange juice out of her fridge.
"Isn't it a little early?" I teased.
"Mmm, it's a holiday, and a few drinks makes playing in the kitchen even more fun." I dropped my fork when she pulled a black apron with frilly white lace out of a drawer. She slid the pearl neck strap over her head, pulled through her long hair, and tied the wide white ribbon around her waist in a lazy bow before twisting her hair up in a large clip.
Fuck.
"Yeah, a drink sounds good," I said in a bit of a choked voice. She smiled, and I shut my eyes tightly as she reached up to grab two glasses, her skirt sliding up her smooth, pale legs a couple inches.
Today was going to be a long fucking day.
Zeus came trotting into the room lazily, stretching out on the floor before dropping down and rolling onto his back by Bella's feet. She grinned, kneeling down and rubbing his belly. "Hey sleepy boy! You excited for some turkey tonight?" His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he looked up at her. She opened up her cupboard, and he sprang to his feet when she took out a bag of treats. She tossed one across the room, smiling as he barreled after it, then went and hid underneath the coffee table while he started gnawing on it. She washed her hands, then came and sat on the stool next to mine, splitting one of the biscuits and spreading some butter and raspberry jam on it. She caught me watching her, and smiled.
"Are you sure you're not going to get bored, stuck here with me all day?"
"Completely sure, I've been looking forward to it," I said in a low voice, tucking a lose strand of her silky hair behind her ear so I could see her face better. "What's your schedule like for the day?"
She took a sip of her drink. "First the pies, then potatoes, beans, carrots, deviled eggs, salad, I need to bring the turkey down at six so it can be carved then reheated, gravy, then heating everything…" Her mind was completely elsewhere, a smile on her lips as she got lost in the idea of her plans.
"What can I do to help?"
She grinned. "How good are you with a peeler?"
I spent two hours peeling apples, carrots and potatoes for her while she fluttered around her kitchen, washing and cutting vegetables, making pies, and I helped her set up a large round table she had stashed away in her giant closet for tonight in the middle of the open room. She reminded me a lot of Alice that morning, a little hurricane of energy and excited movement. She had all of her prep done before noon, her kitchen sparkling clean and everything sitting out just waiting to be turned on. She stood in the center of her kitchen, her hands on her hips, looking very proud and a little drunk.
"Thanks, that took like no time at all," she said happily.
"So you're done?"
"Yup, nothing has to be turned on until five, and- hey!" She shouted as I scooped her up into my arms, carrying her over to the couch and dropping down into the seat with her on my lap while she tried to wriggle out of my grasp. I worried for a second that I had actually scared her, her fists had tightened on my shirt and her breathing seemed a little panicked, but I held onto her more tightly as I sat down, and she stopped wiggling when I kissed her. She seemed to almost melt in my arms, her arms wrapping gently around my neck as she leaned into me. I felt her smile against my lips as I leaned her back, lying her down on the couch as I hovered over her. Combing my fingers through her long hair, and sliding my hand down her ribs, her waist, her hip, and down her thigh until I felt the smooth skin of her leg. I removed my hand quickly when I felt her tense, bringing it back up to her face and stroking her jaw.
Baby steps.
She relaxed again quickly as my kisses became more gentle, moving along her jaw and into her hair before I shifted her over, curling up behind her on the couch and wrapping her in my arms. I trailed the tip of my nose along her neck, making her giggle.
"You smell like an apple pie," I whispered, kissing her neck and holding her a little more tightly. She let out a soft, pleased-sounding sigh, leaning back into my chest. I reached over, grabbing the remote for the TV and flicking it on to the parade. "Can we just stay here like this? Just for a while?"
"I don't ever want to move," she whispered back, her arms wrapping around my own. I smiled, burying my face in her hair, and just savouring the peacefulness of the proximity to her.
I'm not sure how long we stayed like that before her hands slid off of my arms. I leaned back to look at her, and smiled when I took in her relaxed face and slightly parted lips.
She fell asleep.
It was just too adorable, seeing her like this. Very carefully, I pulled the throw off the back of the couch behind me, and draped it over us. When I looked up at the TV, I saw that we still had a couple hours before the others would come over. I wanted to let her sleep, it was such a rare sight. The only time, actually, that I've seen her just sleep normally; not being influenced into it because of pain. I was tempted to let myself fall asleep with her, but I knew if her brother showed up before we woke up she would be mortified.
I couldn't help but think how amazing it would be to not only fall asleep with her in my arms, but what it would be like to wake up and have her right there next to me. I sighed into her hair, and she snuggled in closer to me in her sleep.
She shuffled a little while later, trying to escape the blanket with an adorable pout on her face. I flipped the blanket off of her arm, kissing the back of her neck and trailing my fingers up and down her arm before resting my hand on her hip.
"Hmmm."
I leaned over to look at her face again, and chuckled when I saw the pleased smile on her sleeping face. I rubbed my hand on her hip, and her smile got bigger before she rolled onto her back. I propped my head up on one bent arm, draping my other one over her stomach while I went back to watching the TV.
"No," she whispered a little while later, so quietly that I first thought that I had imagined it. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly before she said it again though. "Wake up."
Fuck, was she having a nightmare? She flinched violently in my arms, whimpering.
"Wake up."
"Shhh," I cooed, brushing her hair out of her face and gently kissing her cheek. "You're safe Bella. I'm right here," I whispered. I smiled when she slowly relaxed again. She rolled over, resting her hands and face against my chest.
"Edward," she breathed, the sound making my heart fly.
"I'm right here," I whispered again.
"Thank you."
I smiled, closing my eyes and tightening my hold on her as I lay back down.
I guess I did start to drift off a bit, my eyes shooting open when I felt Bella's fingers trailing along the collar of my shirt, making me shiver.
"Hey," she whispered, smiling up at me. My face quickly mirrored hers.
"Hey, how was your nap?"
A flash of unease passed through her eyes, but it barely lasted half a second before being replaced by happiness once again. "Best nap I've ever had," she said with a grin. I smiled back at her, trailing my fingers down her face.
Zeus walked over, sitting down behind her and resting his head on her shoulder and letting out his breath in a deep "boof." His tail was thudding loudly on the floor behind us. She twisted her head to smile at him.
"You wanna go out baby boy?" He barked, and I laughed. "Okay okay, I'm getting up," she said, leaning back in and giving me a quick kiss before rolling off of the couch. She straightened up her clothes, stretched, then walked over to the door after him. "I'll be right back," she said with a wave, leaving me alone in her apartment.
I stretched before getting up, folding our blanket and putting it back over the back of the couch, and went to use the washroom. When I was walking back, one of Bella's computers made a beeping sound when I passed by it.
I didn't look at the screen that had the constant feed of news articles popping up on it, it was her security monitor for the roof that caught my attention. Bella was sitting on a bench on the roof, barely in the corner of the screen, her arms wrapped tightly around Zeus whose head was resting on her shoulder.
They were just sitting there, hugging, not moving. Well, I guess not moving wasn't a very good description. It looked like Bella was shaking.
I felt like I was watching something very private, but I couldn't look away. She was obviously very upset about something, and I almost ran to the roof to comfort her, but something stopped me. I got the feeling I would do more harm than good going up there. Bella detested anything that could be considered an act of weakness, if she knew that I was seeing her like this… Yes, she wouldn't like that. So I sat, and waited, until five minutes later when she stood up, kissed Zeus' snout, ruffled his fur, and walked back into the building.
I ran and dropped back onto the couch.
She was all smiles again when they came back in and locked the door, no trace of strain or sadness in her face, but even Zeus knew better. He was glued to her side, even lying down against the bathroom door when she went inside, and whining softly.
I loved this dog, but then again he was an easy dog to love. I found it really comforting to know that he was always here for her, on watch and protecting her, and I loved the calming effect that he seemed to have on her when they were close to each other.
I was going to buy him the biggest bone I could find for Christmas this year.
Fuck, Christmas. It's really not far off now. I wonder if Bella would come to my parent's place for dinner? Uncle Hale and Aunt Carmen would be there, so Rose and Emmett will be invited too… Was it too soon to ask her?
Bella walked over with a tray of fruit, nuts, cheeses, veggies and crackers that she sat on the coffee table, along with a bunch of small square napkins with bright leaf patterns on them. Zeus was watching her with wide eyes, his tail thumping loud and fast against the floor.
That dog was nuts about cheese.
"Go long Zeus!" He jumped to his feet, running towards the middle of the room before spinning around, and jumped into the air when she tossed a small cube of orange cheese. He caught it expertly, then sat up on his hind legs, his giant paws almost digging through the air. She laughed, picked up a carrot stick that looked very similar to the cheese, and tossed it over.
He caught it, but spat it out really quickly and growled at it, making both of us laugh. The door was knocked, and we both glanced over at the monitor to see our four friends waiting in the hall. She dashed over and started undoing her locks. I forced myself not to sigh while realizing that my time alone with her was up.
We all sat together on her giant couch, having a couple glasses of wine while we talked and watched more of the parade, Alice trying to come to terms with the fact that Bella didn't have a closet, before Emmett went up to grab the bird from the roof and carve it while Bella started running around her kitchen, turning everything on.
She wasn't joking when she said she made enough to feed an army, but then again she did have Emmett as a brother so I saw where the habit stemmed from. I also saw what Jasper meant about her mashed potatoes. They were unlike anything I'd ever had before, she made them with a spiced cream cheese she had made herself, and had a texture more like whipped cream than heavy potatoes. There were no words to describe that turkey.
It was the best Thanksgiving dinner I had ever had, not that I'd ever say that to my mother, and I was looking forward to a lifetime of them. The thought made me smile as Bella brought over the pies, and set down party-crackers on everyone's plate.
"Aren't party crackers more of a Christmas thing?" Alice mused.
"Not in this family," Bella said quickly. We counted, and everyone opened theirs except for Jasper. Alice put on her pink paper crown with a grin, and looked over at him curiously.
"I always break mine wrong, open it for me?" He said, handing over the cracker to her with a slight shake in his hand.
Oh fuck.
"Sure!" She took the cracker, twisting it open with a large crack, and the little white ring box fell into her lap. She laughed, handing it over to him without a clue. "You got a big one," she said, and started unfolding his crown to put onto his head. She seemed to notice his odd mood then, and her hands clapped over to her mouth when he opened the box to her, then dropped down on one knee.
Bella was recording the entire thing on her phone with a shit-eating grin on her face.
I wonder what her opinion on marriage was?
"Alice Mary-Anne Cullen, from the first moment I met you I knew you were the one. Since that moment, not a single thought has gone through my mind that didn't include you. You're everything I've ever wanted or will ever need. I love you more than anything in the world. Would you please do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
"Yes!" She shouted immediately, tackling him with a kiss that made me have to look away. It was my baby sister for fuck sakes. Alice was crying when he pulled away to slide the ring on her finger, then pulled her into his lap so he could keep his arms wrapped around her tightly.
"To Alice and Jasper!" Bella sang, raising her wine glass with a blinding smile. We all followed quickly, clinking our glasses together and laughing.
"To Bella," Jasper said after we all took a sip, and she gave him a confused look.
"I'll second that," Emmett said with a laugh. "To the best fucking matchmaker I've ever met!"
"If it wasn't for you, neither of us would have met the women of our dreams," Jasper finished, raising his glass. The rest of the table followed, and Bella's face turned bright red, making Emmett laugh loudly.
"Are you fucking blushing? I don't think I've seen you blush since you were like five years old!" Emmett choked, making Bella jump to her feet and punch him in the arm with a scowl.
I smiled. I made her blush quite frequently.
But that Bella was mine, and only mine. No one else knew her, and I didn't want to share.
Jasper, Emmett and I set to the long task of cleaning the dishes while we shooed the women away easily with another bottle of wine. Emmett had like four plates at dinner, so I don't know how he was still eating, but he was. He had to taste everything before he put it into a container. Once we were all finished, we sat around the table, getting thoroughly shitfaced as we played this "Apples to Apples" game that Jasper had brought along. Apparently, it was another tradition of theirs.
"How did you meet Jasper?" I asked curiously, seeming to surprise the two of them.
"We started working at the Historical Society on the same day," she said with a grin, which he mirrored.
"Yeah, she could have fooled me. I got lost, ended up in her wing, and she showed me around the place like she'd lived there for years."
"Hey, it's not my fault you didn't take the time to do a recce before you started. Amateur."
"Hey, my right hook wasn't amateur, you have to admit, I did you proud that day." She rolled her eyes but was grinning.
"I don't think I follow," Alice said, and Jasper looked slightly aggravated before Bella finished for him.
"A few of the workers thought it would be funny to try to corner the new girl and intimidate her. Unfortunately, they did it right in front of Jasper's office. They never even saw him coming before he broke the first guy's nose."
"You let someone punch someone in the face for you? I thought that was one of your like, favourite things in the world?" I teased.
"Well, we kind of punched him at the same time," she laughed, grinning at Jasper. That was my girl. "He was new in the area, so I introduced him to Emmett. We've all been friends ever since."
"How did you meet Rose?" Alice asked curiously, just as caught up in their stories as I was getting. I saw Rose blanch, and Emmett wrapped his arm around her protectively.
"In one of my self-defence classes," Bella said easily. It wasn't her that gave away the lie, it was Rose. We both saw it, but decided it was best not to push. We started another game, the conversation moving quickly behind us as the night got later.
Our loud laughter was interrupted by a beeping sound like I had heard earlier from Bella's computer, and she swerved her head to look over my shoulder at her desk, squinting at the large screen.
Then it beeped again. And again. And red screens started popping up that I couldn't read.
Then two different cell phones on the desk started lighting up.
She shot to her feet, stumbling over to the desk, and started typing away frantically, fumbling with her different phones with trembling hands.
"No, it's too soon, no no no…" she started mumbling.
"Bells? What's going on? What-"
She bolted out of the room into the bathroom, where we all heard her become violently sick. Rose was running to her side in a second, while Emmett and I ran over to the computer.
I was almost sick too when I saw the picture on the screen. It was a small woman with shoulder-length brown hair, sitting broken in a pool of her own blood in nothing but a torn, bloodied blouse. Her eyes stared vacantly into nothing from the gravel on the side of the road.
There was writing on her arm in black marker.
I miss you baby. They don't feel like you. Soon.
There were all sorts of articles popping up to cover the picture, all with similar headlines. The Highway Killer Strikes Again. Victor Hunter Still at Large…
"What's going on?" Alice whispered quietly, looking around at us worriedly. She hadn't seen the picture, thank god.
"It's the man who's after my sister. He hurt someone again."
"Hurt her?"
"He killed her." Alice gasped, looking around, and went to run after Rose and Bella. Emmett caught her. "Just give them some time. Rose knows what she's doing. Bella will freak out if she gets swarmed right now." My sister nodded, then wrapped her arms around Jasper with tears in her eyes. We all turned when we heard a string of loud cracking noises, and Emmett sighed.
"Shouldn't you like… restrain her or something?" I could only assume what the noise was, and picturing her hands made me cringe.
"No, it'll just make it worse. Best thing is to just let her get it out," he said sadly.
"What's his name?" Alice asked.
"Victor."
"Victor Hunter?" She hissed. Emmett frowned as he looked at her. "But isn't he the one who… With the women and the moving cars?" We didn't say anything. Alice knew this of course, she had taken an interest in the case after finding out it was what my first major film had been based off of. I thought she knew all of this already, hadn't Bella told her? "But why would he be after B?" Her eyes went wide as she continued to think out loud, tears starting to stream out of her eyes. "Did he… He didn't-"
"He did," Emmett said shortly. Alice started sobbing as he walked over to Bella's bar and poured himself a stiff drink. I couldn't take my eyes off of the bathroom door. Rose came out once for a minute, grabbing some things out of Bella's dresser without looking at any of us. They were in there for two hours, Rose, Bella and Zeus, the shower going for a while, while we all sat in silence around the couch.
Except for Emmett, who was sitting at her desk drinking straight out of a bottle of scotch, going through the different articles that kept coming up. Apparently the woman was found just outside of LA. He only answered one call, from some man named Alec. His name was the only thing I got before Emmett went out into the hallway.
I couldn't bring Bella to LA again. The only aspect of this situation that was anything close to positive was the fact that he was so far away from here right now. Emmett had convinced Alice and Jasper that it would be better for her if they headed home, but he couldn't make me leave. No fucking way in hell was I going to leave her like this.
When they did come out, Bella's face was pale, her expression empty. It was scarier than the puffy red eyes I was expecting, but it didn't look like she had even cried. She was wearing a pair of bright purple, baggy pyjama pants, and a long-sleeved white cotton shirt. Her hair was loose and wet, hanging over her shoulders and down her back, soaking her shirt.
Her hands were wrapped in bandages.
They both came and sat down on the couch quietly, Zeus practically leaning against her while she walked over. He jumped up onto the couch, lying down across her lap, and she didn't say anything to him. I was very much aware that Zeus was not permitted on the furniture. Today was obviously an exception, it didn't look like she was physically capable of removing her hand from his thick fur. I went to speak, but Rose cut me off.
"Bella's already talked about it, and she doesn't want to talk about it anymore," she said protectively. We were all silent.
I got up, poured a large glass of water with some ice, and set it down on the table in front of her without a word before sitting down next to her. I didn't touch her, just sat close. I wasn't sure she would appreciate being touched right now.
We sat in silence, watching a re-run of the football game we had watched earlier. Rose tried to cover a yawn at around midnight.
"You guys can head home," Bella said easily, her voice completely normal. "I'm fine, you don't need to babysit me."
"Bella, we don't-"
"Rose, I love you, but I can't sit here with you guys giving me sympathetic looks all night. It's driving me crazy."
"I'm not leaving," I said seriously.
"You're not fucking staying here," Emmett growled, glaring at me with his slightly glazed eyes.
"God damn it Emmett! I'm not fucking your sister!" His eyes went wide, his mouth popping open at my angry outburst. "Of course I'm not you asshole, how much of a prick do you think I am?" I looked over at Bella to make sure I hadn't upset her… and she had a bit of a smirk on her face. I let out a sigh, relaxing slightly. "I know about her past, give me some fucking credit man." I dropped back down on the couch, crossing my arms.
Zeus leaned up and licked my face, and I patted him on the head with a bit of a smile before he lay back down across his mommy's lap.
"Sorry Edward, I…"
"I know Emmett, I get it. Forget about it."
Bella didn't say a word. She wasn't sending me home.
After a couple minutes of awkward silence, he walked over and gave Bella a hug, kissing the top of her head. Rose did the same.
"I already talked to Alec, so don't worry about it. I'll be over tomorrow to check on you," he told her.
"Okay. Take some food home with you, my fridge is going to break through the floor."
He chuckled, and gave me a nod to follow him as he walked over to the kitchen.
"Emmett-"
"Just call me if anything else happens, okay?"
"Oh, yeah. Of course." He gave me one nod, and threw a bunch of Tupperware containers into a fabric grocery bag before he and Rose left. Reluctantly.
I watched as Bella walked over to the rack of clothes between her window and bed, and took out a big grey hoodie that looked like it was sized for Emmett, not her. She shuffled around in her nightstand before walking over to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water.
"I'm going up to the roof for a bit… you can come if you want," she offered.
"Sure." I walked over to the door with her, grabbing my coat, and we slowly walked up the stairwell, Zeus in between us. I sat next to her on the small couch that was there, and looked up at the dark sky.
It always made me sad that I couldn't see the stars here. Fucking city light pollution.
I looked over quickly when I heard her flick a lighter, my eyes going wide when I saw that she was lighting a joint.
"You smoke pot?"
She glanced over at me and frowned. "Sorry, I can put it out if it bothers you."
"No, I don't care," I told her honestly. I'd done much worse, I had lived in LA for five years. "I was just surprised."
She smiled, taking another long puff. "I have a medical permit for it," she said, slightly defensively.
"Really? Why?"
She laughed. "My last doctor said it would help with my 'anger management issues,'" she said sarcastically, making air quotes with her fingers. "It calms me down, helps me sleep sometimes. When they said I could legally smoke pot, I didn't bother to argue. You never know when that will come in handy," she said with a grin, and offered me the joint. I smiled, and took it.
"Thanks."
"Its strong stuff," she warned with an amused grin. I coughed loudly, and she patted me on the back with a chuckle. I hadn't smoked since before I moved back here.
Twenty minutes later, we were sitting on her couch, laughing our asses off and eating ice cream while watching Drunk History on MTV on Demand. Bella eventually fell asleep leaning against my arm, and when she seemed like she was completely out, I lifted her up carefully and carried her over to her bed, tucking her under her fluffy duvet. I went to walk back over to the couch, but stopped when she lightly grabbed onto the hem of my shirt.
"Where are you going?" She mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
"The couch?"
She smiled at me, and slid further across the bed, making room for me. My pulse was thudding in my ears.
"Are you sure?"
"I trust you," she said quietly, making my heart stutter. I watched her for a long minute before pulling off my uncomfortable shirt, and sliding in next to her. I kept my jeans on. We watched each other quietly for a couple minutes before I worked up the courage to lift my arm. She took the invitation, curling up against my side, and both of our bodies seemed to relax from the contact.
"Good night Bella."
"Good night."
. . . . . . . . . .
So, a lot to happen in one day. Are you happy for Alice and Jasper? It's a little fast, they've only been dating for about four months now, but they each knew from the first night they met each other. How do you think today's events are going to affect Bella and Edward's relationship? Victor has never killed two people in such a short time frame before.