Edward's POV
I didn't call Bella right away. I needed to be sure before I told her anything. It had been a risk to even tell my father where I was going, knowing that he would call my mother right away.
But as he had gotten out of the car and stared me down, he had grounded me in a way that only he could. His thoughts pouring out and reminding me to stay calm and take a deep breath.
Charlie and I had been called to La Push as a courtesy only. By the time that I arrived, Charlie was waiting for me to pull up at the trailhead leading to third beach; Sam Uley – the La Push officer running the scene had called him after seeing the victim and knowing that we had been searching for a man matching his description. Nothing had been confirmed yet, but from the look on Sam's face, it was likely him.
"What happened?" I asked as I approached the two men, not wanting to wait for answers.
"Washed up on the edge of the beach this morning, a couple of campers found him." Sam responded as we began to hike through the trees that would lead us to the beach.
"Any idea how long he's been dead?" Charlie asked and I listened closely for the response, there's a good chance he'd been dead awhile and that was why we hadn't found any trace of him.
"Hard to say, but not long. Body's almost perfectly intact…" He responded and I felt myself growing frustrated.
By the time we made it down to the beach, the scene was bustling as they tried to sort everything out before the body would be moved and the tide was due to come back in.
Carefully navigating our way down the last of the trail and over the driftwood stacks, Charlie and I stood back and observed the scene in full, more than aware that we were both currently guests, but both of us ready to see the body and put our minds at rest.
The closer that we got to the body, the heavier my legs got. I was nervous. Of all of the bodies that I had seen in my relatively short time as a police officer, I had never been nervous – but here I was today, ready to move forward with my life and ready to let myself feel the relief if it was him, and yet, my legs were shaky – almost refusing to go any further.
"That's him Cullen." Charlie's voice was gruff as we stopped just back from the body. We didn't need to move any closer – as much as we could see the difference in his appearance from the photos we had on file – we could also see the similarities. It was him alright. I nodded in agreement, swallowing thickly before turning back towards Sam and confirming that it appeared to be him.
Charlie and I didn't say anything else to each other, taking a moment in silence to process it all individually and revel in the fact that our search was finally over. It had been close to thirteen years now since Bella had gone missing – and in that time, we had never before had to acknowledge that the searching was done… Had I given up on finding her – or had Charlie given up on finding her – it would most likely have destroyed us. And now, eleven months from the day she had come home, we could finally see it. Our searching was done. It was over. James and Laurent were both dead, and Victoria was spending the remainder of her days locked inside of a prison cell. In my mind, and I'm sure in Charlie's as well… the case was finally closed, regardless of the final reports or the cause of death. We were both more than aware that we might never get further answers – the reasons that they had taken Bella – none of it mattered. Bella and Nessie were safe at home, and now that her kidnappers were all accounted for, we could finally breathe.
We didn't stay long down at La Push… getting out of their way and letting Sam and his team finish up once we had answered a few questions about our investigation into Laurent. Unfortunately though, Charlie and I were both still on shift and as things picked up throughout the afternoon; I felt my impatience begin to spike. I wanted to get back to Bella – I wanted to hold her close and tell her that it was over. I wanted to see her relief and I wanted to see Nessie smile.
Not at your parents' house – at your place instead. – B N
When the message came through at the end of my shift, I smiled. I had called my dad to tell him about the body and I knew he was planning on telling mom, who I knew had gone to spend time with Bella and Nessie earlier in the afternoon. I didn't need Bella to tell me that she knew already. The fact that she and Nessie had gone to my place instead of back to my parents' house told me enough.
"Bella?" I walked in the door to an amazing smell and immediately knew Bella must be in the kitchen – the smell was different and so much better than the fresh paint I had smelled every other time I had walked in. For the past couple of weeks I had been putting in some work at the house – fixing up just a few things and painting everywhere to get it ready to move into. I had pushed back my move however while we had searched for Laurent – wanting to be with Bella, we had continued to use my parents' house; and I had taken my time in finishing up at the new house, knowing that I wasn't in a massive rush to get it done.
I didn't hear an immediate reply as I kicked off my boots and I frowned, wondering if I misinterpreted her message in some way – despite the delicious smell. And then, suddenly Nessie appeared, running at me from the living room and jumping into my arms as I turned towards her.
"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed and I laughed as she gripped me in the biggest hug. "I love my room! It's amazing!!" Still laughing, I hugged her back; happy that she liked it. Esme and Alice had actually done most of the work in designing and setting up the room for Nessie. I wanted her to feel like my home was hers – I wanted it to eventually BE hers. So we had spent some time planning for her room to reflect herself. It was a dark green and light grey colour scheme – at first I had worried about how dark it would feel, but with the yellows and pinks that Esme and Alice had suggested adding to accent it – it worked well. Of course there was an entire side of her room dedicated to her art supplies as well.
"I'm glad you like it Ness," I chuckled as she practically jumped back out of my arms, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the kitchen.
"I don't just like it… I love it." She stated again with a smile before continuing, "Thank you Edward. I love you!" She exclaimed as we got to the kitchen and I froze as I saw Bella standing at the stove and pulling a tray out of the oven, Nessie's words ringing in my ears. Glancing back down to the girl who was still gripping my hand tightly, I felt my eyes well up with tears before I could stop them.
Tugging gently on Nessie's hand, I crouched down to her level and waited for her to turn around. She had no idea how much her words meant to me.
"I love you too Nessie." I stated firmly as she finally turned and looked back at me, her dark brown eyes sparkling just like her mother's. It didn't even need to register, she was in my arms again in a micro-second, her own eyes filled with tears that were quickly soaking through my shirt. I didn't care. This moment was amazing.
Nessie was outspoken and inquisitive. She often asked the questions that were on her mind without a filter, and she also let us know what she was thinking on a regular basis. She had stated previously that she liked me a lot, and that she trusted me, she had thanked me and confided in me at times, she had trusted me and she had held me when she was scared. She had told my mother and Rosalie and Alice that she thought of me as her father, and she knew that I loved her and Bella. But as vocal as Nessie could be; there were also parts of her that were still guarded and hidden from the world – only coming out in moments where she needed to tell us something important.
"I do love you Edward. You're the best Dad and I'm glad we found you." Her words were muffled as her face remained buried in my shirt; but both Bella and I heard them clearly.
I couldn't have stopped the tears if I had tried. For several minutes we held onto each other and I reminded Nessie that yes, I did love her. Bella had joined us in the entrance and I felt her hand on my shoulder, gently squeezing it and letting me know that she was there and witnessing this with me.
When she eventually pulled back and began to wipe her eyes, I had to stop and wipe my own. It had been one of the biggest moments I had experienced emotionally over the past year – and with everything that had happened… well, I knew that this was only the beginning of life with Bella and Nessie, as a family. It was a good beginning though.
As we sat down at the table, Bella serving us food I was left once again in awe of the family we had formed. Looking at the meal that Bella had prepared I was beyond grateful to have this woman in my life. After my mother had confirmed that Laurent was dead, Bella had surprised her by asking her to take her to the store and help pick out a few things. Together they had bought cookware and dishes for the house; visiting the grocery store and stocking the fridge and pantry with a few basics and the things that she needed to prepare tonight's meal. It was something that she later told me that she wanted to do for us. She wanted to have a part in the house… she wanted to move in with me. This was her way of letting me know that she wanted it to be her house as well.
That night felt different. After dinner Bella and I spoke a little bit about Laurent while Nessie took her sketchbook out to the yard. I didn't want to sour the mood, but I needed to let her know that it was him… that I had seen him, and that he was one-hundred percent dead. Following our talk, we gathered up our daughter and went for a walk… heading towards the small ice-cream truck that parked in the abandoned service-station at the corner of the street.
By the time we returned to the house, we were all exhausted and even though Nessie's room was the only one completely finished; we decided to spend the night together. Before tucking Nessie in, we played a board game – and then once she was settled into her bed, Bella and I moved to the couch that we had purchased and placed in the living room, curling up next to each other and just holding one another.
For the first time in thirteen years, I felt at peace… and for the first time since finding Bella in that bunker, even she felt different, her face lightening as she held onto me and simply relaxed.
For the first time in thirteen years, it felt like she was free from out of the bunker.