I don't own Twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and the plot of the story.
Author's note at the end of the chapter.
Edward always imagined that the moment Cece calls him daddy would be one of the happiest moments of his life. He would twirl her around and tell her how much he loves her. He doesn't do that.
Instead, he nods his head and kisses her forehead then hugs her tightly to his chest. He spots Charlie looking at them and looks away unable to deal with the look in his eyes. Charlie isn't a man of few words like many would assume. He is a man of law with a commanding presence and a voice he is never too shy to use to point to someone how they are being stupid.
Most of the time, he has a lot to say, but never about emotions. Charlie has always dealt with hard facts. That's all he cares for. Emotions aren't part of his manual, and so seeing him on the verge of tears is more than he can handle.
"Edward, Charlie," a voice calls from behind them.
Both turn around to find Angela walking toward them. "I called her on the way here. Figured you didn't," Charlie tells him his face dry with the tears gone.
"Thank you," Edward whispers.
Once Angela reaches them, she asks, "How is she doing?"
"Still in surgery," Edward tells her. He tries to give her a hopeful smile, but what he gave her is anything but a smile if the look on her face is of any indication.
"Would you like me to take her?" Angela asks Edward.
Before Edward can answer, Cece hold tighter to him and mutters, "No."
"Sweetie, could you please go with Angela and get some water?" Charlie asks dying to know what exactly happened with his daughter.
"I am not thirsty," Cece mutters hiding her face in his neck.
"I am thirsty. Could you maybe get water for me," Edward asks her gently while rubbing circles on her back. While at any other time, his heart would be soaring at her attachment, he needs to speak to Charlie and knows that Charlie's patience can only last so long.
Cece pulls back and looks at Edward's face as if judging to see if he is lying. Whatever she saw must have put her at ease, as she nods her head and lets go of him once he places her on the floor.
Once Cece is out of hearing range, he tells Charlie, "Bella was shot."
"What?" Charlie exclaims in shock his face turning different shades of red and purple as surprise transforms into anger.
Edward nods his head frowning and explains, "When we arrived at her street to pick her up, I noticed that the front door was slightly open. I left Cece in the car to check the house on my own and found her lying in a pool of her own blood. I checked and discovered a bullet wedged in her side near her hip bone."
Charlie falls into the chair behind him and stares into thin air for a full minute before he turns sharply to Edward and tells him, "Denali."
It's not a question, nor an answer. It's a statement, a fact. Edward hasn't thought of that but now that Charlie mentions it, nothing more makes sense.
"Did you call the police?"
He didn't. It never even crossed his mind. His priority was to take Bella to the hospital and protect Cece's mind. That's it. Before he can answer him, Cece runs toward him and silently plants herself on her father's lap and hugs him tightly.
He turns to look at Charlie from above Cece's head and shakes his head in answer to his question. Charlie nods his head and then gets up silently and makes a phone call. Edward wants to keep his wits upon himself but is so tired that it takes everything in him to not keel over. Adrenaline withdrawal is real.
Instead, he plays with Cece's hair and rubs her back in soothing circles until Charlie comes to him and tells him, "Police officers are on the way to the house. I will take Angela with me and meet them there. That way we will know if something is missing. Prepare for one of them to come and get your statement."
Edward nods his head silently and leans back into the chair he is on. This is going to be a long night.
Hours pass by as Edward waits for Bella's surgery to finish. One of the nurses spoke to them briefly to let them know that things are a bit complicated. A police officer came and took his statement. Charlie returned once it became apparent that his FBI status didn't get him access to taking part in the investigation but not before Angela confirmed that nothing was stolen and a breakthrough occurred.
In his haste to get Bella out, Edward didn't notice the cups of tea in the living room. Not only did the investigators notice them, but they also found them to be a goldmine of fingerprints and DNA. They are running them through the system. Their belief is that whoever did this is someone who Bella knew well enough to invite into her home and have tea with.
Edward looks down at Cece who is resting on the chairs with her head on his thigh. It haunts him. Knowing that Cece could have been at home does. He is scared out of his mind. They have a traitor amidst them. His mind rotates through the limited number of people in Bella's life that he knows of but comes up empty.
"Hey man, how are you holding up?"
Edward looks up and finds Marco walking toward him. Edward just gives him a blank stare too exhausted to react.
Marco shakes his head and tells him, "Dumb question. I know. How is Cece holding up? I came as soon as I saw Charlie's message."
Another time, Edward would have been jealous of Charlie messaging Marco. Edward and Charlie never got to this stage of familiarity. Their relationship has always been tinged with apprehension on Charlie's part and intimidation on Edward's. Not today. Today, all he can do is be thankful that Charlie is on speaking terms with Marco.
Edward shrugs his shoulders and whispers, "She doesn't know much. Thinks Bella was so tired she fell asleep and we brought her to the hospital. She gets that it's not like normal sickness but that's about it."
Marco falls to the ground near Edward and crosses his legs then asks him, "How? From what I understand she was covered in blood. How did you explain that away?"
Edward closes his eyes and then tells him, "I had a camping blanket in my car. One of those aluminum ones that doesn't get soaked. I covered Bella in it. Cece didn't see anything."
Seconds later, he falls a hand landing on his thigh and rubs it gently. He opens his eyes and finds Marco looking at him. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't need to. His eyes do the talking and Edward understands that it's a mix of thanking him, and patting him on the back of his quick thinking.
Edward smiles at him, even though he is quite sure that his face isn't capable of smiling at the moment. Then Edward returns to closing his eyes and resting his head on the back of the seat he is on.
He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket but doesn't bother to check it. He is somewhere between feeling like there are a thousand tiny men in his head screaming, and two minutes away from melting down the seat into a puddle on the ground.
He doesn't want to feel like this, like he is a burnt live wire. He is tired of being tired yet not being able to be anything else. Bella shouldn't be in a hospital room going through surgery. Bella has had more than her fair share of tragedy. She deserves to be happy, not fighting for her life.
He just wants to go back to this morning when he was sleeping in his bed without the fear he is feeling right now. He wishes he could go back to before the accident when things weren't perfect, but she was his and she wasn't fighting for her life.
Heck, he even wishes he could back to before they started dating, when things were fresh and exciting. When he was filled with hopes for tomorrow and not sadled with the regrets of yesterday.
His phone rings another time but he ignores it and keeps his eyes closed until Marco's phone does too.
He looks down and finds Marco ignoring his mobile phone. After it starts ringing again, Marco takes it out of his pocket.
"It's Rosalie," he tells him. Edward nods his head and tunes him out. There is nothing Marco will say that Edward doesn't know.
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Until my next update,
Stay Safe