Hello, people!
Happy Saturday!
Usual housekeeping:
- I still don't own any of it.
- Team Momo wouldn't exist without Midnight Cougar and Alice's White Rabbit with their red pens, or without AGoodWitch, Maplestyle, Mel, and Eternally Addicted who pre-read and tell me if I'm off my rocker or not.
- thank you for all the reviews and alerts - y'all propelled this story past 1.3k reviews, and I'm floored. Thank you.
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We're back with Bella today. On with the show :)
Chapter 32 – BPOV
By the time we were dressed and fit for human interaction, it was probably close to lunchtime, so our plans for breakfast turned into brunch.
"Do we want to bother with cooking?" Edward asked.
We'd made coffee and soaked up about half the pot already, but when both our stomachs started grumbling loudly, we turned our attention to food.
"What kind of a wasteland do you have there?"
His horrified face said more than his words ever could. "Let's put it this way. I love you too much to subject you to these chemistry experiments."
Despite being busy as hell, Edward was usually on top of his household chores—or directed his cleaning service to pick up the slack. This wasn't normal.
"What happened to your standing grocery order, meal plans, all that good stuff?"
He slammed the fridge door shut and came to sit at the island beside me, bringing the pot of coffee along. He topped off our mugs, then replied with an explanation.
"It's still on hold because of Cornell. Now the semester's over, I have to sit down and get back into the swing of things. I used to do this on the weekends, but—"
"Now you do me." I finished his sentence with a cheeky grin and a bump to his shoulder.
"You, my love, are far preferable to grocery lists." Edward leaned in closer, angling for a coffee-fragrant kiss, but the shrill ring of my phone interrupted us.
"I thought I'd silenced that piece of shit last night. Maybe not." Because I didn't use customized ringtones, I had to look at the screen to see who was calling—since I spent too much time in professional spaces, I couldn't set Rosalie's ringtone to be "Barbie Girl," tempted as I was.
I hopped off the bar stool and sauntered to my tote bag, which still sat in the entryway where I'd abandoned it last night. "It's my mother. Again."
Edward walked over to me and, putting his arm around my shoulder, planted a sweet kiss to the top of my head. "I'll support you whatever you choose to do. But consider whether ignoring them any longer is in your best interest or not. You've got a big day coming on Monday; the last thing you want is additional and unwarranted anxiety, I might add."
I blew out a frustrated breath and kept staring at the phone until it stopped ringing. When the voicemail notification popped up on the screen, it was the latest one in a long list—five voicemails, ten texts.
"You're right. I can't keep running from her."
"I'll give you space," he replied, taking a step away from me.
"No. Please, stay. I'd rather have you by my side."
He nodded and walked us toward the huge, comfy, heather gray sectional in his front room. I plopped down on it, crossing my legs on the seat. Edward sat next to me with his legs stretched out in front of him and his bare feet propped on the coffee table.
I took a deep breath, set the phone on the couch, then tapped my mother's name on the screen.
She picked up on the second ring and answered in a harried voice. "Bella? Is that you? It's your phone; of course, it's you. Are you okay?"
"Hi, Mom. Yes, it's me." I heard grumbling in the background and thought it was my father, letting his feelings be known. "Look, if this is going to be a repeat of last night—"
"No, Bella. It won't. Charles, shut your damn mouth. You've done enough damage already," Renée hissed.
"Mom, you're on speaker here." I thought it only fair to tell her. She could take it or leave it—I'd deal with the fallout from my parents' behavior on my terms.
"Oh. We … we went looking for you at your apartment last night, but there was no answer."
"Because I'm staying with Edward for the weekend. He's here with me now."
Edward, ever the polite gentleman, cleared his throat, throwing in a greeting. "Hello, Renée. Charlie."
"Hi, Edward. Bella, I … we … Your father and I want to apologize for our behavior last night. Your father should never have—"
Talk was cheap. "I'm going to stop you right there, Mom. I appreciate you reaching out, but until it's Dad apologizing and making amends, I'm not going to take any of those words seriously. His behavior hurt me. He humiliated me in public, belittled my achievements, and insulted my adult relationship. I'm not going to let him walk all over me again. So, if his plan on Monday is to show up and order me around like one of his deputies, I'm asking you right now not to come. Just don't. Take an early plane back to Forks because I don't want to see you at my graduation. I don't need that."
We heard a few hisses, more grumbling, and some disjointed noises on the other end of the line.
"Bells? You still there?" my father's gruff voice asked.
"Hi, Dad. Yes, I'm here." And I wouldn't fill the void in the conversation either. Ball was in Chief Swan's court now.
"Do we really have to … talk on speaker?
I sighed. Again, Charlie was trying to commandeer the conversation and dictate the terms of engagement. "I don't have any secrets from Edward, Dad."
"Fair enough. Look, I know that whatever I say now won't be worth a damn to you, Bells. But … I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have steamrolled you like that. It was wrong and unfair."
"You've had years to ask me what my post-graduation plans would be. You never did. Neither of you ever asked. We've lived separate lives for the last seven years, and now you're all in an uproar that I'm not doing what you want me to do. Do you see how fucked up that seems from my end?"
Charlie grumbled again before answering properly. "Yeah, you're right." He sounded chastised, but I still couldn't tell why he'd behaved as he did.
So, I asked. "Why, Dad? What brought that on? It's not as though I've been here on my own, partying night and day, and ended up with a rap sheet as long as my arm, with an abysmal GPA, no job, and no money. I've been a responsible adult." By now, my voice broke. For all I'd tried to compartmentalize their absence over the years, it still stung. Out of sight, out of mind.
Edward squeezed my hand and snuggled beside me, planting a kiss to my shoulder.
"I'm a man of few words, Bells."
"Understatement of the century, Dad." I wasn't going to let him get away with this by claiming a flaw in his emotional makeup. "Sounds like someone didn't get the memo on learning to read the room."
"I know. My fault again. It's not been easy, having you on the other side of the country these past few years. We would've wanted to see more of you, know more of you—"
"There's such a thing as asking."
"I … We didn't. And I won't give you excuses or justifications. We could've both been more upfront about shit with you, but we weren't. That was our mistake. I've missed you so much, Bells. And I—your mother and I—we've both been so proud of everything you've done for yourself."
"You could have told me to my face at any point in the last seven fucking years, Dad. This isn't going anywhere."
Edward tapped my hand, whispering in my ear, "If I may say something, my love?"
"You don't have to mumble, Edward. Say it. Out loud."
He cleared his throat. "Charlie, Renée. I don't think this is a conversation the three of you should have on the phone. Bella, what do you think?"
I was about to counter with a resounding, "Hell, no," but relented when I heard that Edward was giving me a choice in how to conduct this business. I pondered for a minute. "We shouldn't have it in public either."
I let the weight of those words land over us while some cross-talk between my parents filtered through the speaker.
"We would love to see you before Monday, Bells," my mother offered.
"Neutral ground?"
"Sure. Wherever you wish," Charlie replied.
"You're both welcome to come here," Edward countered. "And yes, my love. Before you even ask, I'm sure."
I looped my arms around Edward's middle and kissed his jaw in thanks. "You are the best, baby."
"Have you had lunch, Renée?" Edward asked, after winking at me.
"Not yet."
"We can have something arranged by the time you get here. Bella will send you the info. It shouldn't take you long from your hotel."
Charlie came back on the line, loud and clear. "Thank you, Edward. That's very gracious of you. We'll be there as soon as we can."
We all said our goodbyes, and after I ended the call, I shot a text to my mother with Edward's address while Edward called the doorman to warn the front desk that we'd have visitors.
"What the hell did we just do?" I asked Edward when he came back to sit beside me.
"We're dealing with this like adults. Face-to-face. You deserve this time from them, and maybe they'll be more honest and open about what's on their mind if you're all in the same room."
I nodded and recognized that was the grown-up thing to do. Grab the bull by the horns and everything.
"What the fuck would I do without you?"
He cradled my face and sweetly kissed me. "I have no idea, but if it's up to me, you'll never have to find out, love."
Aaaaand we knew a talk with the parentals had to happen sooner or later. It'll land on a screen near you on Wednesday, narrated by a very detail-oriented hotshot lawyer.
Catch y'all on the flip side!