28

Edward leaned against one of the white pillars on the front porch, watching Bella sitting on a blanket in the front yard, her legs folded in front of her, her hands resting on her knees, and her eyes were closed. Alice, of all people, was sitting in front of her, teaching her how to center her chi, calm her mind, or whatever. Meditation was something Alice believed strongly in, something she had always tried to get Edward to do with her when they were in high school, when things got hard. He'd always thought it was a load of bullshit, but as he watched her and Bella together, maybe it wasn't such bullshit after all.

The door to the house opened and he looked back, finding his father standing there. Carlisle tilted his head for him to come inside, which he didn't want to do. Not because he didn't trust Alice with Bella, but mostly because he didn't want to be away from her. She was the love of his life, but he pushed off the white pillar and headed inside, straight through the living room and into the office, where Emmett, Jasper, and Charlie were standing with Felix, Garrett, and Tyler.

"Close the door," Carlisle said, and Edward turned and closed the door behind him before he faced everyone, knowing immediately what they were about to say. "As you know, there's been another letter. This one was left on her door."

Edward nodded. They'd gotten an alert at three in the morning that Bella's camera system had once again been tripped, and they watched as the male stalker walked right up to the door and left a note, before his head tilted toward the camera. They couldn't see his face, yet it was like he was daring them to see him, challenging them to see him.

Carlisle had dispatched Sam to the house, and he was able to retrieve the note, which was filled with the usual: I love you, you're mine, and I will find you. But it had set off another series of panic attacks in Bella, who was already struggling with the idea of leaving the cabin the next morning and rejoining the world, as she put it. Hence why Alice was teaching her how to meditate, centering her chi, or whatever you wanted to call it. The fact that Bella was letting her made it clear how much she trusted Alice, something that made Edward wonder exactly what they had said to each other the other day. Something between them changed, matured, and it both thrilled him, and scared him.

"Let me guess: no prints, no fibers, no DNA, nothing helpful to positively identify who he is."

"Basically," Carlisle said, placing his hands on his hips. "Felix still thinks its Jacob Black or Mike Newton."

Edward rolled his eyes. It was the same argument they've been having for the last five days. Felix was convinced that one of those two were her male stalker, despite the fact that Jacob was a solid fifty pounds heavier and three shades of brown darker and Mike Newton was a solid fifty pounds south of the stalker and almost albino white, according to their pictures. But, you know, Felix knew everything and the rest of them were dumbasses.

"Look, let's not get into that argument again," Garrett said, putting his hands up in front of him. "The point of this meeting is to discuss what we are going to do once we reenter polite society. Seeing as the label refuses to push back her media tour, which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of in the first place."

"Not like I haven't tried."

Turning, Edward saw Rosalie standing in the doorway with Esme right behind her. As she and his mother entered the room, Rosalie's eyes flickered to Emmett, who was doing everything he could not to ogle her. Edward had walked in on them kissing four more times over the last five days, though Bella hadn't yet. When he questioned why she hadn't told Bella about her new relationship with his brother, Rosalie admitted that she was scared of how Bella would react.

"The label has made it very clear that they will not push back her tour, seeing as they've dropped close to half a million dollars promoting her," she added, folding her arms in front of her. "Her first leg is back in L.A. but then we are heading long the west coast all the way to Seattle. From there, we're scheduled to hit Chicago, do a couple of morning shows before stopping in New York. It's grueling and exhausting, so we need to figure out who this motherfucker stalking her and stop them before she has a nervous breakdown and throws her career out the window," Rosalie said, and put her hand up when Felix started to speak. "And before you say it, her career is the second most important thing to her."

Rosalie shifted her eyes to Edward, almost like she was trying to tell him that he was the most important thing to her, which made him want to smile, though he didn't. This wasn't the time nor the place to enjoy his newfound love.

"Fair enough," Garrett replied, taking a step backward.

"We've vetted everyone associated with her," Tyler said, before clearing his throat. "With the exception of Jacob Black and Kate Denali, everyone comes back clear. We need to cut them from her team."

"No, we don't."

Edward's eyes closed before he turned once more toward the door, finding Bella and Alice standing there. Alice gave Edward a look before she walked over and laid the blanket on the couch and settled in front of her laptop, clearly not wanting to be in the middle of that conversation again.

"I told you I want to meet Jacob," Bella added, her eyes flickering to Edward first.

"We don't know that he's not your stalker, Bella," Felix argued, as he has done everything she mentioned wanting to meet her half-brother.

"It's not him," she said.

"You don't know that."

"And you don't know that he is!" She entered the office and walked over to Edward, who immediately wrapped his arm around her waist, nestling her against him. He felt her relax just ever so slightly before she said, "I'm meeting him and that's final. Before the tour starts. And I want to meet Mike Newton, too."

"Why Newton?" Jasper asked.

"I want to look him in the eyes, get a sense of who he really is."

"Why?" Emmett questioned.

"Because I need to understand why he's been to so many of my shows. I mean, is he just a fan, or is he a fan?"

"And Kate? Are you interested in sitting down with her, too?" Felix asked, though his tone was dripping with sarcasm, when she simply nodded, his eyes widened. "Are you fucking stupid?"

"Shut the fuck up, dickhead," Charlie snarled, grabbing the front of Felix's shirt and pulling him around to face him. "That's my daughter you're talking to, so show her some Goddamn respect, you motherfucking asshole."

"My bad." Felix put his hands up in front of him, so Charlie released his hold and pushed him backward. "I'm just saying, she's acting a little rash, don't you think? Sitting down with our top three suspects?"

"No," Carlisle said, tilting his head to the side. "I think it's a great idea."

"You do?" she and Edward asked at the same time.

Carlisle smiled as he nodded. "Hiding hadn't gotten us any closer to finding your stalker, Bella, though I'm still not convinced Marcus isn't the one behind all of it. Let's start hitting the ground running, so to speak."

"This is a waste of my time," Felix muttered.

"Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out," Bella quipped before she gave Edward a look and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Set it up. Set them all up," Edward said, giving his father a look before he turned and followed Bella, knowing that she would be upstairs in their bedroom.

He called it their bedroom because they'd spent every night wrapped in each other's arms, loving each other, holding each other, reassuring the other they were in this until the end, and then beyond. They hadn't escalated their relationship beyond kissing, but at the same time, the comfort he felt in her arms felt like the deepest kind of intimacy.

When Edward walked into their room, he found her curled up in the rocking chair in front of the window, her knees pulled up in front of her. She smiled as she looked over at him.

"How pissed off was he?"

"Pretty pissed," Edward admitted, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. His eyes shifted to the suitcases sitting next to the door. "Are you ready to go back?"

Bella shook her head. "Terrified, actually."

"Me too."

"Why are you scared?"

Edward walked over and sat on the side of the bed. He leaned forward and braced himself on his knees. "I don't belong in your world, sweetheart."

"You belong with me, just like I belong with you."

He smiled, but shook his head. "I just . . . I don't know how you handle all that attention."

She laughed. "I just smile so hard that it hurts and keep telling myself that my music is why they like me."

Bella dropped her feet off the edge of the rocking chair before she stood up and walked over to him, pushing on his shoulder so that he had to lean backward. She straddled his legs before sitting down on his lap, causing his hands to immediately grip her hips, pulling her closer.

"I don't think I can go back out there if you're not by my side, Edward."

"I'll be there. I might need something from you, though. You know, to build my courage, or whatever."

"And what's that?"

"A kiss."

Bella laughed and threaded her fingers in his hair, tilting his head backward. "A kiss, huh?"

Edward nodded. "And not just any kiss. A toes curling, mind-blowing kiss."

"As long as there's no pressure," she snickered, before leaning down until her lips were almost touching his and whispering, "Tell me if this meets your requirements."

Bella's lips brushed across his softly at first, slowly before she pressed down harder. Her tongue pressed against his lips, causing him to moan as they parted. She darted her tongue into his mouth, slow, torturous strokes that had him tightening his grip on her hips, shifting their bodies against each other's. The feel of her so close, the warmth of her breath on his lips had him wondering what it would feel like if they were naked, if they were connected as one, causing his cock to harden.

Bella pulled her lips away from his, leaning her forehead against his. "Well? How'd I do?"

"Pretty much the most toe curling, mind-blowing kiss I've ever had, but, you know, I'm not an expert, so we should probably keep kissing."

Bella laughed as she climbed off his lap and shook her head. "No, because I'm a kiss away from stripping off my clothes and letting you have your way with me."

Edward's eyes widened and he stood up, reaching for the hem of his shirt, but stopped when Bella laughed and grabbed his hands.

"But, seeing as we don't get more than a few minutes alone before one of them is interrupting us," she added, gesturing toward the door just before they heard someone stopping out of it. "My point has been made."

"Fucking family," Edward muttered before he hurried over to the door, yanking it open to find Esme with her hand up about to knock. Next to her on the floor was a basket full of food. "Mom."

"I was just dropping this off," she said, gesturing toward the basket of said food. "I didn't want it to get cold, so . . ." Esme's eyes flickered from him to Bella and she smiled. "I'm just gonna go."

"Thanks, Mom." Edward waited until she down a full flight of stairs before he picked up the basket and carried it into their room, closing the door behind him. "We're never going to be alone, are we?"

"Not for a while," she said, smiling.

"With the tour there will be even more people around us, won't there?"

"Yes, and then again no." Bella climbed onto the bed and patted the mattress. "I'll tell you about it while we eat."

Edward carried the basket over and placed it on top of the bed, prying open the lid and lifting the containers of broccoli and cheddar soup, and brownies. After he placed the basket onto the floor, he climbed onto the bed next to her, waiting for her to open her soup before he followed.

"This is good," she said, nodding. "Never been a big broccoli cheddar fan, but this is really, really good."

"It's my favorite," Edward said, using his spoon to stir it. "Tell me what the tour is going to be like."

Bella frowned before she said, "Media tours are a lot different than concert tours. I'll appear on dozens of radio shows, mostly Sirius radio stations. I'll do sessions, where I'll perform live while sitting inside this tiny little booth with a mic the size of my head in front of me and, like, two people just staring at me. I'll perform on various late night shows, too. For those, I'll have my whole team with me: make-up, wardrobe, and such. I'm very particular about who is around me due to my issue with being touched, you know?"

Edward nodded.

"We'll have a few planned sightings again, like we did before. Music stores, restaurants, coffee shops. Gotta keep my face out there for the whole fucking world to see."

"Is it worth it?"

"Sometimes," she admitted. "My music is my voice, my way of expressing myself, I guess, so if that means I have to be America's Sweetheart to be heard, I'll do it, even if I hate it."

"I admire your ability to put yourself out there like that. I just . . . the thought of people staring at me like that . . ." Edward shook his head. "It's terrifying."

"I'll protect you," she laughed and he smiled. "You told me you used to write stories. When you were little, I mean. Do you still?"

"Sometimes," he confessed. "Mostly just inside my head, though."

"Tell me one."

"What?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"Tell me about what of your stories."

"Um." Edward shook his head. "I don't think so."

"I sang for you!"

"Bella, they're not very good."

"I don't care. I still want to hear one."

Edward sighed as he climbed off the bed, placing his bowl of soup on top of the dresser. "Okay, but if I do this, you can't laugh."

"I promise."

He sighed and nodded. "I can't believe I'm doing this." Edward walked over and sat in the rocking chair, needing the space between them in order to be brave. "I 'wrote' my favorite story when I was eight, maybe nine years old. I'd had a rough day at school, as I usually did, and Alice had been sick, so she wasn't there to help me. I came home from school and locked myself in the closet and wrote my feelings, I guess." He took a deep breath. "In this story, I . . . I was a vampire."

"A vampire?"

He nodded. "Please don't laugh. I was a little kid."

"I'm not laughing," she said with a smile and waved at him. "Please, continue."

"So, I wasn't the one that was a vampire, okay? We . . . we all were. Mom, Dad, Em, and Jay. . . We were like a vampire family, but we weren't like other vampires. We were the good kinds."

"Did you drink human blood?"

Edward scoffed. "No, we drank animal blood."

"Like Bambi?"

He nodded.

"You killed Bambi!"

"No," he laughed. "We were just, you know, vampires. Anyway, in this particular story, I was hunting for Bambi," he said, giving her a look, "when I found a girl crying in the middle of the woods. She was pretty. Like really, really pretty."

"What did she look like?"

He felt his cheeks turn red as he said, "She, um, she had long brown hair and beautiful brown eyes."

Bella bit her lip, like she was trying to keep herself from smiling. "And when you found her, what did you do?"

"I, um, I didn't eat her, if that's what you're asking."

"I wasn't, but that's good to know."

Edward smiled. "I took her home because she was lost and scared. She'd been abandoned in the woods, left all alone and, um, I knew she needed me to take care of her, so I snuck her into my bedroom, hid her in the closet, and I'd sneak her food and water until my mom found her."

"And what happened when your mom found her? Did she let you keep her?"

"She did, just not in the closet." He stood up and walked over to the bed, climbing on top and sitting in front of her. "Mom does what Mom has been doing since we came here, and she took care of her, loved her," he said, quietly. "And the little girl became a part of our family, we loved her, took care of her, never let anyone hurt her ever again."

"And did she love you, back?"

"She did," he whispered, bringing his hand up to her face. "And I turned her into a vampire. You know, so she'd feel like she belonged."

"Very considerate of you, Edward." Bella covered his hand with hers. "That was a really good story. You should tell me another."

"Sing me another song first."

Bella shook her head.

"Then I'm not going to tell you another story."

"That's not fair! I performed an entire concert for you!"

"That was not for me. That was for the thousands of fans who came to see America's Sweetheart in action."

Bella gagged as she flopped onto her side on the bed. "Don't call me that."

"Sorry," he snickered, reaching over and hoisting her back upward. "That was a low blow."

"Yes, it was." She laughed. "But fine, don't tell me another story. See if I care."

"Yeah, I can tell you don't care." Edward picked up the container of brownies and pried the lid off. "Want one?"

"I shouldn't," she said, but still reached in and plucked one out. "Gotta watch my figure, you know, but I've never been able to resist a brownie."

"Me either, which is probably why she made them." Edward helped himself to one. "She used to make them for me when she knew I was anxious."

"And leaving here makes you anxious, too, doesn't it?"

Edward nodded.

"Glad I'm not the only one." Bella took a bit, covering her mouth with her other hand. "Holy shit, these are delicious."

Edward fell back onto the bed, laughing.

"Stop." Bella leaned forward and laid next to him, propping herself up on her elbow as she looked down at him. "Promise me that when we leave here tomorrow, you and I will still be you and I."

"I just found you again, sweetheart, I'm not letting you go now."

"But I need you to promise me."

Edward rolled onto his side, shifting them so that they were laying so that they were facing each other, and brought his hand up to her face. "I promise you, sweetheart. I love you. I love you so much, and I'm never letting you go again."

"I love you, too."

And as Bella leaned in and pressed her lips against his, he hoped he'd be able to keep his promise, because losing her again would be the end of him.

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