Bella

I don't know why I waited this long to call Edward. Well, I do know, but me holding back when it comes to him is on the list of worst things I've done this year. Because I know he'd be worried once I told him I was camping out in my car.

"I'm such an idiot," I tell myself.

"Stop beating yourself up, I swear to god…don't."

I chuckle at Edward's voice coming through the speaker of my phone. You're all that matters to him.

"Why didn't I just go to a fucking hotel?" I watch around myself, delusional with anxiety. This woman is going to absolutely hate me.

"Because your mother makes people do irrational things. Take me, for example. I didn't even pack stuff before I came here."

I bite my lip. If I'd called him sooner, maybe I could have sneaked some stuff out of the house for him.

"You didn't have a backup plan either, did you?"

"I know…" he lets out a breath, and floorboards creak on his side of the line. It makes me wonder about his mother, about her house. She must be day and night compared with my mom. I can't imagine a life like that. With a mother who cares. For real, not for her own benefit.

"I bet your mom doesn't make you pay rent on your childhood bedroom," I mutter bitterly.

Edward laughs.

"She'd probably strike me over the head with a rolling pin if I ever tried to slip her money," he jokes.

My heart sinks.

"What if she hates me for breaking up your marriage?" I wonder quietly as I drive down the road. Every second is one closer to Edward. It's also one closer to spilling the beans, for telling someone about us. And it gives me jitters both of excitement and anxiety. I can't have another mother hating me, even if it's not my own. Because if Edward's mom ends up hating me, it might mean mine is right about me.

"You didn't break up my marriage, baby doll…" he says softly. "It was never whole from the start."

"Still…" I start. "You deserve much better."

"I have better now, thanks to you. The best, honestly."

His words make my heart beat a little faster, and I smile, almost seeing his warm smile, almost feeling his palm against my cheek.

I love you.

It's crazy to feel that, even crazier to say it this soon since I've never said it. So I keep those words to myself for now. This is not the right time. Not in the slightest.

"Bella? You still there?"

I shake my head, returning to the here and now, focusing on the dark road ahead.

"I'm almost there," I tell him. "Two more minutes."

"Good, I'm glad. I'll wait for you on the porch, okay? My phone is only at three percent."

"Okay. I can't wait to see you."

I take a right turn, passing through a cute neighborhood, getting nervous as my car gets closer to the house on the next corner. Then I see him, illuminated by my headlights, a vision dressed in worker pants. And I relax, parking along the curb.

He opens my door like a proper gentleman, and I take his hand. I'm home.

"I'm sorry," I sigh as he hugs me tightly, my face buried against his chest.

"I'm sorry, too, doll. I should've let you know I was coming here, but I sorta just drove and ended up here."

I nod. And I do understand. My mother makes people do crazy shit. I've seen it with the former husbands, I've heard the stories from my dad.

"Yeah, I did the same thing. I just started driving, but then I got tired."

"Hey." Edward grabs my face, cradling it in his warm, callused palms. "I'm not mad at you. I'm glad you stopped driving when you felt tired but I can't stomach knowing you're out there, all by yourself in an empty parking lot."

I nod again.

"I know, thank you for letting me come here."

"We'll figure it out together, baby. I promise."

I lean up, stretching my neck, pecking him on the lips. Edward grabs me by the waist, making me linger, making my forget all the bad instantly. I melt against him, my hands traveling up his bare arms until my fingers intertwine beind his neck.

I hear someone clear their throat behind us, and I gasp once I turn, my stomach doing an odd flip, moving away from Edward as if he burned me.

"Why, Edwardy…seems like you left out some details earlier." She doesn't sound too angry. In fact, it's more like the woman on the front porch is amused, more than anything. I'm mortified.

"Shit, did I wake you?" Edward asks. I stare at the ground, at the scuffed up toes of my sneakers. They don't match my dress at all, but they were the first shoes I could find before I bolted out of that mansion. My cheeks burn, all the way to the tips of my ears.

"I heard you talking, then the front door opened and closed. I thought you may have changed your mind and left without saying goodbye," the woman says to Edward, getting down the steps wearing a pair of rubber boots on her feet. I bet those were the first pair of shoes she found as well.

"Never in hell would I change my mind about Renée, Mom." Edward shakes his head, and his mother smiles. Even in the dark, only a few street lights on, I can see how much Edward resembles his mom. They have the same nose, the same mouth, that same, playful smile that tugs at the corners of their lips.

"Good then," she announces. "Let's get you lot off the street, my boy."

Right when I think it's time for me to get back into my car and look for a cheap motel room over in the next town, Edward's mother walks closer.

"Esme," she smiles. Instead of going in for a handshake, I'm surprised with a hug. A motherly hug. One that feels warmer than anything I've ever experienced.

"Bella," I introduce myself.

"Ah," Esme sighs. "Edward always did like brunettes."

I can't help the chuckle erupting from deep within, and somehow, out of nowhere, I start sobbing like a little kid.

"Hey," Esme shushes, one palm on my shoulder. "It's alright, darling. Come inside, okay? I'll make you some hot tea."

That makes me cry even harder. But Edward knows why.

"Mom," he starts. "Motherly things are kind of…new to Bella," he explains. I'm grateful he speaks for me right now, because I'm hypnotized by this house, engulfed by the warmth it exudes, how love radiates through the walls. There's pictures everywhere of Edward, of a girl with long, golden hair and their smile, pictures of a little kid and a dog…it's everywhere.

"Darling, come sit down. Make yourself comfortable." Esme pulls out a chair for me at the round kitchen table. The kitchen smells like dinner, like a party. It's like I'm having some kind of culture shock. But it's the good kind. Definitely the good kind.

"I—," I start. Esme puts an oldschool kettle on the stove while Edward sits down next to me, one hand on my knee. I look at the sunkissed palm of his hand, tattoos mingling with my virgin skin. Then it hits me. Edward isn't wearing his wedding ring anymore.

"Now I see why you won't change your mind about that snake anymore," Esme says with a grin.