Edward's POV
I hated Victoria Sutherland… as much as I hated James Foster, and Laurent Da Revin. Her actions had thrown the entire course of our lives off track… stealing innocence and causing chaos to consume our lives, for far too long.
When she had returned, it had broken Bella apart… and at first I hadn't known what to do, or what to think. But as always, Mom and Dad had come through for me… reminding me that perhaps, although Victoria's return, confession, and guilty plea had been difficult and emotionally taxing… they had allowed Bella to mourn and grieve in ways that she had never allowed herself before; had never been capable of before.
At the same time, Nessie suffered in different ways.
She didn't have the emotional connection to Victoria and Laurent that Bella did… but she did have an incredibly strong connection to her mother and she was sensitive to anything that Bella experienced. The days Bella spent in the hospital nearly broke her daughter apart, no matter how much the rest of us were there for her; and yet it also gave them both healthy space. Bella needed to know that she could grieve and could trust Nessie's care to us while she took care of herself. And Nessie needed to grow and mourn their unique situation, and Bella's withdrawal on her own… still loving and dependant on Bella, but also inter-dependant; able to process their trauma, and the process of being separated from each other on their own as well.
The day she disappeared at the school, was the first of many new emotional reactions that she would face; with her anger flaring up unpredictably in the days, weeks, and months that would follow. Mom assured me that this was normal and reminded me to remain firm with the rules and boundaries that we placed when she was with us, but to also be understanding that she was facing huge emotions that were affecting her strongly and oftentimes without warning.
While Bella spent time in the hospital, and in the days following her return home; she came to depend on me to take care of Nessie – something that I was thrilled that she trusted me with, but that was harder than expected. Thankfully Mom and Dad, Alice, Rosalie, and even Angela Weber were available and all willing to help out as well, providing Nessie with a good and sturdy support system of her own. She had faced her own set of unique challenges recently – trouble socialising, and the urge to isolate herself at school; accompanied by teasing and bullying from Alec and Jane Leech which had thankfully been taken care of quickly.
The twins had been constant trouble, and after being sent home for their comments and persistent teasing of Nessie, they had been given one final warning. They had slipped up immediately though – bothering her and her friend Cassidy both… making crude remarks and vague threats. The school had called me in that day, as well as the twins' parents and faced nothing but trouble from their parents – a couple who were both executives with the lumber mill, not interested in small town life, their money turning their noses up at the rest of us. Thankfully the school was firm… the twins being asked to leave with no room for argument. It helped that Charlie and I both arrived in uniform that day… ready to file harassment charges against the kids if the parents chose not to co-operate.
The twins disappeared a few days later… their parents driving them out of town, and returning childless. Charlie had Mark look into it, just to be on the safe side and to ensure that the parents hadn't harmed the children (after all, in this case the bullying seemed to be a learned behaviour)… and it turned out the parents had simply sent the kids off to Italy to live with some wealthy uncle. I didn't really care to be honest. I was glad to see them out of town, and unable to bother Nessie any longer.
After the stress of Victoria's re-appearance, Bella's hospital stay, and Nessie's trouble at school… Spring arrived quickly. It was such a welcome change to the long and brutal winter that we had experienced and as the weather cleared up and we began to see buds appearing on trees, and tulips and crocus's popping up in gardens; all of our moods lifted as well.
Victoria had been sentenced. It would never be long enough in my opinion… but she would be an old woman before she was released. She didn't contest or appeal any requests by the prosecutor or the sentence agreed upon by the judge. We were grateful for that. It saved Bella from the trauma of a lengthy and painful trial, and we knew that the woman would never again affect our lives. On the other hand, Laurent was still out there… his location a mystery. It bothered us all, but we tried to look forward for the most part now… something that was much needed.
Twelve years was a long time to mourn.
"Edward!" Bella's voice was light as it reached me and I smiled. This was still so new and unexpected at times, but I would never complain. Her newfound happiness was the most beautiful sound.
"Hey Love, How was your day?" I asked as I moved through her house and continued on into the kitchen. She was standing at the stove, stirring a small pot of something that smelled absolutely fabulous.
"It was alright… I started a new project…" She laughed nervously and I smiled, this was good news.
"What kind of project did you begin?" I asked her as she turned around and then I leaned in to kiss her. This was a new development for us, but I was definitely happy with it.
She had surprised me a few weeks before. Leaning in during a movie that we were watching after Nessie had gone to bed, she had ordered me to stay put, moving slowly and pressing her lips softly against mine.
It was that day that she confessed that she had never kissed anyone before. It was the one thing that James hadn't stolen from her. Since then, we had been closer than I ever imagined. Kissing her was amazing and I would be happy if this was as close as we ever became physically…. Although Bella had also told me that she had discussed with her counselor the possibility of more someday, wanting to feel normal and unheeded by the trauma she had faced.
"Here. Keep stirring this." She grabbed my hand and placed it on the spoon she was stirring and once I took over, she moved to the side. I was excited to eat whatever this was that she was making… a creamy sauce thickening up the more that I stirred. Watching Bella I saw her move towards the living room, her leg barely limping any longer. The physiotherapy that Dad had recommended had done wonders to improve her walk, although the way her leg had been broken would prevent it from ever being one-hundred percent.
"Let me know what you think." She told me nervously when she returned, placing the thick notebook on the counter beside me and taking over dinner again. Picking up the book, I moved to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair and opening the first page.
Immediately I was enthralled with her story. It wasn't what I had expected to read, my mind prepared for the worst initially – as I prepared to be thrown into her world in the bunker. I knew that she had been journaling about it with her counselor, and she had talked about writing a book based on her experiences. But… this was not that.
This was a fantasy story – a kingdom in her mind forming through the pages that she had written… building an entire community, a new race of people…. A war… It was already an extraordinary story.
"Bella this is truly amazing!" I exclaimed as I reached the end of what she had written so far. She was busy putting out plates now and I could hear the front door as it banged open, Nessie's enthusiastic voice overpowering Charlie's calm one as they came in.
"For real?" She asked and I smiled, moving back over towards her.
"For real. I think… once you're done this… it could be published if you wanted to go that route." I answered her seriously and turned her towards me, pulling her into my arms and locking eyes with her.
"I really… I really do enjoy writing." She told me with a sigh. "And it gives me peace… an escape." She confided and I smiled a small, tight, smile. I was glad that she had discovered writing and how much it helped her. She was doing so well… but it would be a long time before the nightmares ever went away.
"And you are amazing at it." I responded, leaning down to kiss her again as Nessie made her way into the kitchen, immediately emitting a groan when she saw us. Pulling back from each other I smiled down, looking into her eyes, reminding her that she was loved, brave, and strong; before turning my focus on her daughter.
"And how was school today?" I asked her and she scowled at me. Generally she liked learning… but she didn't always like the confining nature of sitting in a classroom... she truly wanted to be free now after so many years locked up, and school could be difficult some days for her.
"It thundered so we couldn't go outside at recess." She frowned at me, her little face scrunched up in a pout. I tried not to laugh and to listen as she explained the lack of outdoor time throughout the day. "But after school was over Ms. Weber asked to talk to me." She said and I tried not to jump to conclusions, hoping that she hadn't thrown another tantrum in class.
"Did something happen?" Bella asked from behind me and Nessie shook her head 'no'.
"There's a silent auction… she told me what that is, but I don't really know still… at the school fair at the end of the school year. It's to raise money for a new playground that they want to build." She exclaimed and I tried not to cringe at the mention of the school fair. Looking at Bella I saw her freeze at her spot at the counter, plates of steaming chicken, potatoes, and asparagus covered in the white sauce, loaded up and ready to go.
"Ms. Weber asked me if I could do a nature painting up for the auction." Nessie's voice quieted down when she saw mine and Bella's reaction. The fear spiking up suddenly on her features. "But it's okay… I don't think I'm that good…" She muttered suddenly, and I crouched down to her level, recovering from the shock and turning my attention back to the girl in front of me. She didn't know why we reacted… just that we did, assuming that it was something about her skill as an artist.
"I think it's a wonderful idea, and if you want to donate one of your paintings, it would make an amazing addition to the auction table." I told her and she looked at me, watching my face for any trace of a lie. It was one thing I had learned about both Nessie and Bella right away… they were beyond good at recognising lies and neither had any tolerance for it.
"Edward's right Ness. Your paintings are beautiful and I think that they could raise quite a bit of money for the playground." Bella piped in while Charlie leaned against the fridge, watching us carefully.
"Okay." She responded shyly then… she still didn't seem completely sure that it was a good idea, and neither Bella nor I would push it if she really didn't want to do it. But we also didn't want to stop her if she did… regardless of the fact that they would be auctioned off at a fair.
"Alright. Go wash up Missy. Looks like Momma's got dinner all ready to go!" Charlie jumped in then and I chuckled as Nessie's face lit up brightly. She loved to eat now, each meal almost always completely devoured… it had helped and she had begun to fill out, her cheeks no longer gaunt. She had also grown at least an inch or two as well in height over the last few months.
"You two are good with her… you know…" Charlie was taking off his belt, locking his gun in the cabinet before hanging it on the hook by the back door.
"Thanks Dad." Bella smiled over at him, bringing the food to the table where Charlie and I were now sitting.
"No really…" Charlie began again, his head down. "I know that at first I was nervous about you being back here Bells… not that I didn't want you… because I did… more than anything… but I didn't know what it would be like to have you and Ness here… I didn't know what that girl would be like, what she would need from me." He confessed quietly and I heard Nessie upstairs, singing loudly as she washed her hands.
"You're amazing Bells… with her. I know it ain't always easy… but she is such a gem because of you… and Edward, you too…" He said and I smiled. Bella and I hadn't really talked about it… but in my eyes, Nessie might as well be mine now. I knew that Bella was her mother and all decisions came down to Bella's choices… but I also knew that as long as Bella allowed me in her life, I would fulfill that role for Nessie.
And hopefully… one day in the future, we would be a family unit. I was ready to ask her, I just knew that the timing had to be right… she and Nessie both had to be ready. It was coming quicker than I expected… but I also knew it wasn't quite time yet.
The right moment could be three weeks from now, or three years… I wasn't in a rush… but I was ready. I trusted that I would know when that moment was.