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Chapter 68

A Cozy Sunday

Edward

"You will not lose me," Bella whispered urgently. "I will ask you to change me. But I'm not ready yet."

Later, as I lay in bed with Bella, lovingly viewing her face as she slept, those words were still buzzing around in my head.

We hadn't really talked about this possibility before. I was very satisfied with the way things were now. Bella loved me and I would marry her. Never again would I leave her alone ... But she would leave me. It was inevitable because she was getting older every day. I didn't want to change Bella. I didn't want to take her life away. I wanted to spare her this gloomy and dreary existence. The pain of transformation. The loss of her soul. To make her a creature of hell. A scourge of blood. Leaving her human environment, her friends. The grief for all those she would see die. She should not renounce anything in her life. Who was I already that she was going to put up with all that for me at some point?

Nineteen years ago, I had found a way to eke out an existence without Bella. But I would not succeed again. David's words had summed up what I had basically known for days. And he spoke from my soul. I could live with a vampiric Bella, but not without her anymore. I had already admitted it to Jake that an immortal life would be a better choice than some other paths. Of course, I had given her my word and would keep it. Was my selfishness too great in the meantime? Did I no longer recognize the difference between right and wrong? Or was I already wrong then? But it was not yet time. Bella was not yet ready for this step. I would continue to feel the intoxicating warmth of her body against mine. Sink into those stunning big brown eyes. See the ravishing blush of her cheeks. Eavesdrop on the wonderful sound of her heart. Let her growl at me when she was hungry.

It was barely half past six in the morning when I had to chuckle in amusement.

Emma woke up between her parents and she was pretty bored. She turned from side to side and pawed at her parents' faces, who just turned over annoyed - still asleep.

I gave Bella a gentle kiss and stood up.

On my way to the guest room, I pulled on a T-shirt, quietly opened the door, and Emma grinned at me enthusiastically.

In the kitchen, it was then explained to me very strictly and in detail that one first put the cocoa powder in the cup and then dumped the milk over it. So that there was more cocoa residue to spoon down.

I wasn't sure at first what I should be doing with Emma at this hour. She hadn't been washed, was only wearing her cute pink princess pajamas, and it was still a bit early to play, since Emma tended to laugh vociferously while doing so. With her lively, clear voice, this would reach all the way into the bedrooms.

"What do you say we make breakfast for everyone?" so I asked, and Emma agreed.

I grabbed one of Bella's cookbooks, pulled out the appropriate ingredients, and we started baking.

Deacon had also woken up in the intermediately and supported us energetically.

For him, the milk had to go into the cup first, then the cocoa. Very important!

At 8:50 a.m. the table was set.

Croissants - some covered in chocolate, pancakes, yogurt with fresh fruits, pots of coffee and cocoa, breakfast muffins, orange juice and normal rolls - some had a piece of chocolate or raisins crept into the dough. And in front of the table stood two proud bakers with plenty of flour and chocolate on their faces.

I got my cell phone and took a picture to send to Jake, together with the question if he would be there with Becky for breakfast. I didn't get a response, but since I knew where he was, I didn't worry.

Emma and Deacon balanced two cups up the stairs - for Sonya there was only tea because of her pregnancy. They chuckled as they knocked and heard a sleepy "Mmm ... mmm ...?" from inside.

I opened the door to them and the children - or rather the cups? - were received very enthusiastically.

I went to Leah, who had been awake for some time already. She was just too lazy to get up. She was lying in bed with a book and didn't look like she was going to get much exercise today, but she would come down for breakfast.

Bella slept deeply and soundly. And once again looked offended.

I took my shirt off again and crawled back onto the bed from the foot of the bed with the blanket, which was typically on the floor. I slowly kissed my way along her endless bare legs.

The plan with the pajamas last week had been great, only that this plan had only lasted one night. Since then, Bella slept with my top, while I on the other hand only had the pants on. At least she hadn't sneezed again yet.

When I got to her belly, I pushed the useless fabric aside and propped myself up on my elbows. It took a while - which didn't bother me in any way - but then Bella woke up, reached into my hair and sighed in satisfaction. The comforter rose over my head and I then hurried the rest of the way up to her lips as Bella smiled happily at me.

Breakfast together was very nice, but I missed Jake and Becky at it.

In the meantime, he had contacted me and sent a photo: A lavishly filled tray with breakfast that had been waiting for them both outside the door.

I had informed my family that Jake and Becky were staying overnight at my house so they wouldn't be mistaken for burglars. Since at times like that my family could get very imaginative and scary.

It was almost noon when Jake returned with Becky - both showing unmistakable happiness on their faces - and with Rose and Emmett in tow.

Leah drove Becky home. To her father, she wanted it to look like she spent the night with Leah, not her boyfriend.

Rose and Em brought the Golf back. The spare part had arrived a few days ago, but since it was the twins' car, Rose had taken another close look at the Golf and done a general overhaul. In the process, she had replaced a few more parts. It sparkled like new in the driveway.

Right after breakfast, Sonya and David left with the kids. They would spend today together with Daniel at Old Orchard Beach. The kids should get to know each other.

It was not yet clear how long they would be with us. If David canvassed all the customers, he would be busy until at least Tuesday. However, his sons actually had to go back to school tomorrow. Sonya herself was not working. She had actually wanted to start again in the near future when Emma started kindergarten soon, but since she was pregnant again, that plan was written in the stars for now.

Leah stayed in bed for half the day. Her book was just too exciting.

Since Luces and Deacon had spread out in Jake's room, Jake sat at the dining room table for his English essay.

Bella and I went for a walk through the woods - accompanied a bit by Rose and Em before they ran home - so Bella could at least get some fresh air.

The two also demanded a tour of the house, of course, with Em unable to refrain from making a comment about Bella's large bed.

With an arm around her waist, I saved my angel from stumbling all too often.

"Remember when you showed me how YOU run through the woods?" she smiled at one point, after we had been walking for quite a while.

"Of course. You were dizzy," I laughed. The day I lost all my masks. The first night she was knowingly involved. Our first kiss.

"Show me again," she asked me.

Gently I put my cold lips on hers.

I did not move, just like back then. And - also like that time - her response became demanding. Only today I was not afraid that these human instincts would be overwhelmed by the monster in me.

We kissed, long and intoxicating, until Bella struggled for air. She teasingly reprimanded me.

She would not have meant the kiss.

"I know, but I just felt like it," I explained myself, but then let her climb on my back.

I could be pretty fast, but with Bella, I took it a little slower. It ended up being like that time I arrived at our house. Her limbs were stiffened in their clasp around me and her eyes were wide with shock and watering a bit.

I chuckled.

She had wanted it that way.

I gently pulled Bella forward from my back and her horrified face stared right back at me as I held her like this. I freed her from her torpor with a kiss and let her slide gently to the ground.

It was surprisingly quiet in the house.

No thoughts.

Bella went upstairs to wake Leah up so she wouldn't oversleep all afternoon and then have a problem falling asleep tonight. She also wanted to talk to Renée on the phone.

Jake, on the other hand, had fallen asleep doing his homework.

However, even though he tried not to let me in on last night, I had been able to see without a doubt in his thoughts that he hadn't slept very much.

"Yes, I do!" Jake startled out of his dream and had a piece of paper stuck to his cheek.

I chuckled, but raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Well, what did you dream about?" I asked.

Arriving only slowly in reality, he pulled off the paper, hid his face briefly in his hands, and continued to drive them through his hair.

"Don't ask," he said evasively, trying to sort his thoughts back toward English, which he wasn't particularly successful at.

"Don't you think you're still a bit young for such an idea?" I asked. I didn't make fun of it in the process. After all, I probably knew his feelings for Becky better than anyone else, and I also knew that they were reciprocated just as intensely. Jasper might be familiar with it, too, I reminded myself.

Jake nodded with a caught smile, knowing it himself. However, he couldn't help pointing out that he was actually older than me.

Casually, I glanced at his essay.

Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. That explained why he dreamed of getting married. He hadn't gotten very far yet.

I gave him some food for thought and discussed some scenes of the play with him and then with Bella together, so he soon finished.

Intermediately, Leah came down with the phone.

Renée was, after all, the grandmother of two grandchildren, so naturally she wanted to talk to both of them.

Jake was asked about his mother.

Bella would have sounded so different than usual, so more even-tempered, and Bella herself had apparently said nothing about it.

Jake said without further ado that everything was just running smoothly here at the moment.

No special incidents, all vehicles were intact, Bella hadn't stumbled for a long time, everything was great at work, he and Leah had good grades. Everything perfect.

Renée was easy to please.

"It's already clear that we can't tell Renée or Charlie about you. After all, they know you ... But what about Billy? And about Seth?" Jake then asked after he had hung up and the four of us were sitting on the sofa.

"Even if we don't say anything explicitly, Seth will recognize it in our thoughts the next time we see him," Leah also reasoned.

"They I have completely forgotten ... Then maybe I should just get it over with now," Bella sighed after thinking for a moment. "They know you guys live here. That's the only reason we were there. I'm sure they're already waiting for news," Bella explained in my direction.

"Start with Emily," Jake handed the phone to his mom, and the kids thought of that woman for me explanatorily.

She seemed understanding. And had a knack for baking muffins.

"You rarely don't think about food!" I stated tonelessly, while Bella was already back on the phone and the kids were grinning at me.

Wolves had an impressive metabolism.

Bella spoke for some time with this Emily, who then also asked for Leah and Jake to listen to their version. She refrained from trying to speak to me. She would make up for that eye to eye the next weekend.

'THEY' would come here.

"What's the worst that can happen?" asked Leah with a laugh, to change the slightly depressed mood.

"They can be against it. So?" Jake also asked lightly.

I wasn't so convinced that we could just dispense with their opinions and ignore them. We would have to wait and see how this meeting would go, which Bella also ultimately realized.

We then told them that Alice had figured out we were engaged and that Bella had thus won our bet.

I felt like a winner as well. I would be able to lay with Bella in the morning for two weeks when it was Jake and Leah's turn to make coffee and get rolls.

"Then you officially become our dad!" stated Leah with satisfaction.

"Do we get allowance from you then too?" asked Jake.

It was only meant as a joke and he and Leah grinned to themselves while getting an educational smack on the neck from Bella. But a very urgent thought occurred to me.

"Will you do me a favor and get your Social Security Cards," I summoned them.

All three looked at me in surprise. But they did.

Even Bella without opposition!

I took my cell phone and dialed. A lady answered, seemingly unspeakably disturbed in her Sunday rest.

"American Express ... Customer Service. You're speaking to Susan Parker. What can I do for you?" she indifferently recited her line.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I urgently need three additional cards ... for my future wife and her children ..." I said endearingly, and Bella gave me a wicked glare after the realization flashed in her pretty eyes.

She pounded on me with her fists and cursed while I pulled her tightly against me and tried to ignore her. As far as it was possible on the phone and with the ID cards in the other hand.

The children, on the other hand, just looked at me in amazement. Silently. And with open mouths.

"Yes ... Edward Anthony Stone. Customer number 7865 348602 00001 ..."

I heard typing on a keyboard, a short gasp - something seemed to fall down - and immediately, how the lady asked extraordinarily politely for further data for identification. I was a little curious as to what exactly the monitor had just told her. I wasn't sure how sensational my account balance was for the lady. After all, here we were at 'American Express'!

"Unrestricted please ...", I explained and the lady asked a few times for safety's sake if I was serious.

I affirmed. Every time again.

"Isabella Marie Black ..." I began to pass through Bella's data.

I waited patiently until everything was entered.

"Jacob William Black, SSN ..." I said further, continuing with Leah's information. "Both born February 14, 2007 ... in ...," I faltered when I saw the twins' birthplace.

I read it three times and the lady on the phone got nervous.

Bella also noticed my hesitation and finally stopped cursing.

"... in Atlanta, Georgia ... As soon as possible, please ... Thank you," I finished and swallowed. "You were born in Atlanta?" I inquired incredulously.

"Yeah ... sure. What is it?" Jake asked uncomprehendingly.

"What shocked you about that?" Leah also joined in.

"Why were you in Atlanta? Why not in Jacksonville with Renée?" I asked Bella directly. Meekly. It's not like I was mad. I was just surprised.

"Phil filled in for a friend at a pro training camp there for a few months over the winter. There I was in the hospital after ... We were supposed to be back in Jacksonville already, but then we waited for the twins to be born ... The last few weeks were hard, which is why I wasn't allowed to fly anymore. No one wanted to burden me additionally with the drive," Bella explained, looking at me curiously. "Why do you ask?" she wondered with raised eyebrows.

"I was there," I said, recounting what I had experienced that day, while Bella was in my arms and the kids tensely spread out around the two of us.

Flashback

I haven't had a usable lead from Victoria in a long time.

I was such a loser! There were many more red-haired vampiresses than I had assumed. But none of them was the one I was looking for. I owed it to HER to take away from HER the last danger that was among us because of my desire for HER. Laurent was destroyed. I had no proof of this, but I had no reason not to believe Irina. How great the danger from him would have been, I was not able to say. My hunt had never been concentrated on him. Always only on Victoria. Because he had warned us about her. We should not underestimate her. And now I was failing miserably in trying to protect my love from any dangers.

I roamed the states aimlessly. Stayed away from Forks and Jacksonville.

I had promised it, even if everything in me was longing for HER. As soon as I closed my eyes, I saw HER face before me. In my thoughts SHE was omnipresent. SHE never let me go. Never let me forget how much I desired HER, cared for HER, wanted HER with me, had to protect HER. The fear for HER well-being drove me and did not let me really rest.

For a year and a half, I had been searching for Victoria. Had turned South and North America upside down to find her.

But nothing. Nowhere did I find a concrete clue. Always just vague conjectures.

Also, now I followed only a quiet suspicion.

In the middle of Atlanta.

I hadn't changed my clothes in weeks. I had already almost forgotten how the water of a warm shower felt on my skin. I looked like a homeless person as I walked through the streets in the drizzle.

I had quickly found the vampiress, whose trail I followed. It was the wrong one again. I saw her, heard her plan to look for a victim tonight in the city and destroyed her.

I continued to wander haphazardly through the streets.

Considered what my next step should be.

At some point, I found myself in the hospital.

I could not say what had led me there of all places. Although I had not hunted for weeks, blood no longer appealed to me. It had no taste. Without HER, simply nothing mattered anymore. I only needed it so that I would not become weaker. So that my senses, my physical strength and my gift was not limited. So, it was no problem to renounce the omnipresent smell of blood and I just looked for the way to the outside. But something seemed to keep me in the building. It was thoughts that drew me in. That kept me from leaving the hospital. That made me neglect all other thoughts and images.

I followed them, although they were not real thoughts.

Rather, they were sensations. Pure and innocent.

I went through another door and recognized something through strange eyes.

A blurred image. Everything was only dimly discernible. People were indistinctly discernible, but not yet even assignable to a gender. Likewise, I heard voices through these strange thoughts. A diffuse subliminal noise. As if everything else - except this feeling - was unimportant.

A gaze at a sign seemed to explain it to me.

I was in the maternity ward and was in the head of a baby that had just been born.

That was new to me. Never had I been able to hear such young creatures. My gift should be weaker because of the time that had passed since my last hunt. But instead it became stronger? No. That could not be. Because except for this one new life, I heard no such thoughts.

I hid in a small storage room and concentrated.

I must have been on the verge of losing my mind, because I thought I was seeing double. As if I were seeing it from two slightly shifted perspectives. A woman - who else should already have a child - with dark eyes and dark hair. I did not recognize any facial features, the images were too misty for that. But these thoughts, this single feeling that built up in the head of this little being, captivated me. Love. Untouched love. This new person knew neither the joy nor the suffering that one could be experienced through love. Hope, disappointment, pain, fear, devotion. It just loved unconditionally, and as long as I listened to that sensation, I felt more at ease than I had since Forks. The thoughts - or rather the feeling - moved. The child was taken out of the room and I followed them mentally. It was apparently washed, examined, and dressed, and then left alone somewhere. I no longer saw unclear people before its eyes. The look became darker and darker. It would soon fall asleep.

Only at this point had it occurred to me where this baby would probably be right now. I became courageous.

Despite my outward appearance, I walked towards the show window. Behind it, the babies were lying in small cribs as the mothers were recovering from childbirth, being examined themselves, or the like.

I wanted to catch a glimpse of the face of this perfect innocence. I had no luck with that, but I realized that my mind was working after all. I saw and felt everything twice because there were two babies. Twins. They lay together in a slightly larger crib and touched each other lightly on each others hands. As if they wanted to give each other support or tell each other that they were not alone.

I didn't stand there long before I was summoned to leave the hospital immediately. Otherwise, one would notify security.

So, I followed the invitation.

I took one last gaze at the two children again, but again could not look into their faces. Leaving them felt like something was tearing inside me!

As I left the maternity ward, I briefly braced myself against a wall.

It burned in my heart as if I were leaving something behind. I needed a moment. I actually left something there. My fear for HER! Actually, I still owed it to HER to search and destroy Victoria, but it no longer made sense to me after this experience. Something told me that SHE was safe. That SHE was no longer in danger and was experiencing perfect happiness. I could not say where this feeling came from. It was inexplicable to me. These innocent babies took away my continuous fear and gave me an unusual inner peace.

For the first time in months, I ran to my family.

This time to stay.

Flashback end

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