DISCLAIMER: The story doesn't belong to me; the characters are property of S. Meyer, and the plot belongs to Annalau Thank you so much for letting me share your story in English!
Gracias Laura, por darme esta oportunidad!
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Chapter 3
Quarrels
Eric cried inconsolably as I wrapped him in the towel, his flushed face and shivering body clear evidence of his fever.
I cooed to him, trying to calm his crying.
Bells got up from the floor after letting the bath water run. I tried not to look at her wet blouse clinging to her body, letting me see that she wasn't wearing a bra.
Her nipples stood out under the fabric and realizing my eyes were riveted right there, she folded her arms.
I cleared my throat. I came out of the bathroom and carried my son to bed.
I noticed that Bells had changed the furniture in the room; the king size bed we bought together had been replaced by a queen size bed that now had a pink print comforter.
"You shouldn't have let the fever get that high," I gritted my teeth as I dried Eric's body and put him in clean pajamas.
"Last time I checked his temperature was under 100°F," she argued. "I thought the Tylenol would help."
"He had 102°F." I voiced, "You should never let his body temperature rise, we've talked about it many times," I reminded her.
"I'm not an idiot, Edward."
"I'm not saying you are, just be careful with our son."
"Daddy..."
Eric put his arms around me and clung tightly to my neck, resting his little head on my shoulder.
"My baby boy," I kissed his head and rubbed his fragile back several times, starting to coo at him.
"Don't try to accuse me," she protested, "I'm not the one who left the house."
"Do you want me to remind you why I left?"
There was pain in her eyes; her steady gaze told me so.
"You're a..." she was silent before wiping away her tears abruptly and walking out.
"And mommy?" Eric lifted his head, looking toward the door.
"Now she's coming, little one."
Bells returned within minutes with the thermometer and placed it under Eric's tongue.
She smiled sadly at him as our son ran his fingertips over the tears still running down her cheekbones and tried to wipe them away.
"Why are you crying, Mommy?"
Bells shook her head.
"I don't want anything to happen to you, baby," she whispered. "You're the thing I love the most."
"I love you, Mommy." Eric mentioned as he caressed his mother's face.
"The temperature is dropping," Bells smiled.
Eric stretched his short arms out to her and anchored himself on her hip as soon as he was in her lap.
"Thanks for coming," she mumbled, "I didn't think you'd be awake, you never liked staying up.
"I went for a few beers with Jacob and Sam." Somehow I felt better about explaining myself to her.
"Oh. Enjoying your single life…"
I didn't miss the resentment in her voice.
"You do it too, don't you?"
She rolled her eyes and walked over to the bed. Now the small Batman bed that Eric occupied for sleeping was in the corner of the room.
I wanted to ask her how she managed to rearrange the furniture. Eric had his own room and seeing his bed in the same space made me think of a thousand guesses at once.
She was supposed to be out of town. When did the changes happen? At what time?
"You bought furniture," I articulated aloud. "It's been two weeks and you've already made changes. You seem to want to take my memory out of this house."
Eric threw his head back and began to sleep in her arms.
"Don't come with stupid claims."
"Why not?"
She laid Eric down on the little Batman bed and tucked him in with the Batman sheets. He walked over to me and gestured for me to get out.
I snorted. I still decided to leave after leaving a kiss on my son's head.
With one hand in my pants pocket I fumbled with my house keys, not sure whether to hand them over or not. I was thinking about doing it when I noticed that she abruptly closed the laptop on the table.
"It's late," she said nervously.
"You're not thinking of taking another trip, are you?"
"Thanks for coming, Edward," she walked to the door and opened it.
"No, Bells, I'm not leaving until you tell me you're not taking another damn trip."
"I'm an administrative assistant."
"I don't give a shit! From now on you'll take care of Eric properly, I won't help you."
I didn't know if it was the ingested liquor or Sam's stupid words, but it felt better to shout it out.
"Great. This will be the last time I ask for your help, I swear I won't do it again."
"Good. I hope you keep your word."
She held her breath. Indignantly she gestured for me to leave.
"You'll see Eric every two weeks," she said. "I don't want you to come in here, you'll wait for him at the door, understood?"
"I'll see my son whenever I want! And you're not going to stop me."
"Go to hell!"
"No dear," I muttered, "I got out of it."
I went too far. I said things I didn't mean, there was no turning back when Bells slammed the door in my face.
THANK YOU FOR READING
