Edward's POV
Spring moved quickly into summer with only a few small hiccups along the way. Overall Bella and Nessie were far more immersed in life than anyone had imagined possible after such a short time. Full recovery would still take time, but each day brought them both… and all of us… another day closer.
At the end of the school year, Nessie submitted two beautiful paintings to the silent auction at the school's year-end carnival. She had originally planned to only donate one, but couldn't decide on which of the two she had recently done to contribute. The first was a scene from First Beach that she had painted after we had taken her there for the first time. We had stayed late into the evening that first night and I had shown Nessie the magic of a driftwood fire. She had been absolutely enthralled with the bluish purple flames, and after taking multiple photos of it on Bella's phone, had managed to perfectly recreate the scene – complete with the ocean waves in the background, the evening sky, and the fire as the primary subject. The second painting she had donated was a creative composition… still with the ocean as the primary focus, but this time as seen from the magnificent cliffs surrounding the La Push reservation. In the distance she had added in a remarkable pirate ship, and a mermaid poking her head and fin up from the water. The colours in both the ocean and the sky were rich and vibrant, and it looked like something out of a fairy tale story.
The hardest part about Nessie donating the paintings… was that neither Bella nor I… or anybody from the family, had any inclination to step foot at the fair. I couldn't recall a single one of us having attended a fair, carnival, or street fest since the day that Bells had gone missing, and the tension and stress that this fair caused Bella was one of the few hiccups that we faced.
In the end, it was actually Bella that convinced us all to go together. Every one of us made an appearance and faced our fears and reminders from that day, to support Nessie, and to really take a humungous step forward. It was a tough day, and we only stayed for a few minutes… and Bella cried herself to sleep that night… but she told me the next day, that she was glad she had faced it. Although I doubted that fairs and carnivals would ever be on our list of top experiences, or things to do.
When we found out how much Nessie's paintings had earned for the school, not one of us could believe it… we knew her art was good, but we had no idea that the people in Forks would be willing to pay so much for one of her pieces. On top of the success at the auction; the principal of Forks High had approached Bella one afternoon, at the bookstore where she had begun to work. He had seen Nessie's work and was impressed with her natural talent. He offered Nessie the opportunity to work with the art club at Forks High the following fall. We offered it to Ness, but told her to think about it. She loved to paint… it was her outlet… but we also didn't want to force her into something that she wasn't ready for, or that she herself didn't want.
"I got the house." Bella and I were lounging in the backyard at Mom and Dad's place. It was drizzling outside – typical for Forks – and we were sprawled on the garden swing in the gazebo… Nessie had insisted on coming out to dance… something about the rain on her face, one of her favourite things to feel. I thought that now was as good a time as any to give her the news.
Once I had narrowed down my search to a few places… I had sat down to talk to Bella about my choice to leave my parents' place. She had been quiet at first, worried that I was going to ask her to move in with me… and she confessed that she wasn't ready yet. Once I told her that I already knew that but that I hoped that one day… when she was ready… that it might be a possibility… she relaxed and was actually thrilled about the idea.
I also told her that while this decision was made with her and Nessie in mind for the future… it was also for myself. I was twenty-three, and I felt it was time to get out on my own. Thanks to a trust fund left to me by my grandparents on my mother's side and some smart investing by my parents when I was young… I had enough money to buy a home outright, with savings leftover. This was something that I needed, and as much as I hoped that one day, she and Nessie would consider living with me… I was okay to wait for that time.
Bella had been relieved… but she had also been happy.
After our initial conversation, she had helped me look at several places; eventually settling on the one that Charlie had initially pointed out. The man knew what he was talking about and the Jefferson family had recently renovated the entire house… leaving it move-in ready.
When I told her they accepted my offer, she rolled over and looked at me, her eyes meeting mine as she leaned in to kiss me.
"I love you Edward." She whispered, her eyes never moving, her voice never wavering. She was still so incredible to me.
"I love you more than words, Bella." I responded and she leaned up to kiss me again, her arm coming up and wrapping around my waist as she pulled herself even closer to me.
"We should head inside soon… the temperature has dropped quite a bit since we've been out here." I whispered a few minutes later. We were back to just lounging, Bella's back against my stomach while we watched Nessie as she enjoyed the weather. She had spent so long with never experiencing any type of change to the weather… no rain, no snow, no wind… that she still found wonder in things that the rest of us failed to even notice. Now she was squatting by Esme's garden, her eyes focused on the robins that were gathered there, pecking the ground and pulling up worms. At first she had squealed… we already knew she didn't like worms on the ground – especially stepping on them… but now she was watching the birds pull them up with fascination.
As much as we didn't want to interrupt her exploration, Bella agreed with me. We didn't want her getting sick from the now cooler temperatures combined with her damp clothes. Since coming out of the bunker we had been providing Nessie with vitamins and immunizations to catch her up to schedule. She had spent her life isolated though and hadn't had the chance to build natural immunity to anything, and so each cold and each gastro-bug she had faced so far had been brutal for her and concerning to us – thankfully, she had been a trooper and hadn't experienced anything too serious yet.
When we got inside, Bella ran a warm bath for Nessie and got her cleaned up. She was covered from head to toe in mud and I laughed when she pouted and complained that she didn't need a bath. As she stomped her way upstairs, I went to find Mom and Dad… they were heading out for the evening – some charity shindig for the hospital – but I wanted to let them know that my offer had been officially accepted on the house.
"I'm so happy for you Edward!" My mom exclaimed the second I made the announcement and I smiled up at her. I honestly don't think that two better parents existed anywhere.
"Thanks Mom." I responded quietly, still thinking about Bella. I couldn't wait until I could make a bigger, different announcement involving her and Nessie… but I knew my patience would pay off in the future.
"Did you tell Bella already?" My dad asked as though he could read my thoughts and when I glanced at his face, saw the slight smirk. Yes. He really could read my thoughts… he knew that my eyes were locked on our future, and that I was not only hopeful, but planning for a future that involved both Bella and Nessie.
"Yes, just before we came inside." I said, and then added. "She's still a little worried about me asking her to move in with me… I think she thinks that I will pressure her before she's ready." I confessed quietly, peeking up the stairs to ensure that she wasn't coming back down. "I mean… I do plan on asking her eventually, but right now I'm aware of her fears and concerns. She has told me outright that she isn't ready to leave Charlie's yet, and I would never pressure her into something that she isn't ready for." I continued and my father nodded along knowingly.
"Just continue to be patient with her Edward, she loves you and she trusts you. Two of the most important things for her right now. You'll both know when the time is right to take the next steps." My mother reassured me and reached over to squeeze my hand.
After sharing a few of the details with them… when I was taking possession of the house, and when I was actually planning on moving in… they asked me a few more questions and then they left to prepare for their evening out. Wondering what was taking Bella and Nessie so long to get cleaned up, I moved upstairs, looking for them to see where they had gone.
When I couldn't find them on the second floor, I made my way up to the third floor… my bedroom, the only other place where I could guess that they would be. As I approached the door to my room, I heard Nessie's distinct giggle, followed by Bella's light, nervous laugh.
Knocking on the door, I waited until I heard Nessie shout out that I could come in.
Pressing open the door, I chuckled when I saw them sitting there, Nessie on the end of my bed and Bella on a pillow on the floor in front of her. Nessie had Bella's hair in her hand and was busy placing brightly coloured elastics throughout, her hair sticking out wildly in every direction. It matched Nessie's already completed crazy-hair do and I wondered what they were up to.
"Well, don't you two look beautiful!" I tried to maintain a serious expression as I spoke, but as Nessie rolled her eyes and Bella snorted out another laugh, I broke down, my mouth becoming a wide grin.
"I asked Momma to do an elegant princess hairstyle." Nessie told me and then announced to Bella that she was finished.
"She gave me this instead." She gestured up at her own head and I nodded thoughtfully.
"And elegant princess it is!" I laughed. Nessie didn't though. Instead she reached behind her and grabbed one of the pillows from my bed, whipping it towards me quickly.
"You never specified what district you were the princess of." Bella laughed as I caught the pillow and lightly tossed it back to Nessie. "I was doing your hair as though you were Princess Analia from Aveyard." She continued and I nodded along. Bella had stood up and moved towards the small mirror on the wall, admiring her own hair-do before turning back to her daughter.
"I'm a real princess though Momma… not from one of your stories!" She exclaimed and Bella shrugged playfully.
"Hmmm… there's only one way to tell." As she moved closer to Nessie, the girl's eyes widened and I smirked. I knew what was coming… so did she. "Princess Analia is not ticklish at all… so the only way to tell if you are really her…." She trailed off and Nessie backed up the bed, shaking her head furiously. But as much as she shook her head, she was already smiling by the time Bella got closer to her.
Within seconds they were both giggling profusely as Bella tickled her daughter.
Taking out my phone, I snapped a couple of pictures before setting it down on my desk, and moving closer to my girls. These were the moments that made everything else worth it. To see the normalcy, the easy smiles and the bursts of laughter emanating from them.
These were the moments that I never wanted to miss out on again.
That night we all laughed together, eating pizza, playing games and watching movies until Nessie passed out on the couch. As I carried her into the bedroom that she and Bella usually shared whenever they spent the night, I sighed… not in sadness or frustration, but in contentedness.
After Ness was snuggled into the blankets and snoring soundly, Bella and I moved back down to the basement to watch another movie; both of us were quiet but happy.
As Bella curled up next to me, I held onto her tightly. It had been a busy year for us both, and I treasured these nights where we didn't have to move, didn't have to speak, and just allowed ourselves to be together.
Kissing her lightly on top of the head, I leaned back… not caring what movie she had selected to watch as I simply continued to hold her against me.
Within a few more minutes, I was sound asleep… and so was she.