Out in the woods under a blanket of stars with a campfire going strong, warmth surrounded us and embers crackled. The air between us was much more positive than it had been at the restaurant. It was like old times, Bella and I were falling into our old selves, only we were friends now. Friends who happened to have a baby together. The 'just friends' part bothered me more than I assumed it would. Yet, I was more than grateful to be in the presence of Bella and our son.
Bella may have drawn a line down in the sand about our relationship, metaphorically speaking, of course. Though I was determined to prove my trust to this amazing woman and not cross that line…until she shall wish for me to do so. It wouldn't be easy since I was fighting the urge to kiss her, but I would try to be good. I would use all my self control to not hold her hand or kiss her lips. I may have been ready to kiss her after changing Anthony's diaper and before my mother called me for a second time, but Bella wasn't. I had to respect that.
Allowing me to spend time with her and our child was her choice. I wouldn't do anything to make her feel disrespected and not want to be around me. Which was why I was doing my best to keep some space between us even though I wanted to hold her tight and never let her go.
Bella was sitting beside me on a log, sipping her drink while she and I talked – catching up on everything we went through for the last eight months. As well as what my family had been up to – each one of us had a human role to play to keep up the charade. My father worked at a local hospital, of course. My mother was a Real Estate agent, Emmett and Rosalie were college grads, living on their own with their own specialty car shop; restoring vintage vehicles. Emmett took care of the office part and Rose's in charge of the body work and keeping her employees in line. Then there's Jasper, Alice and I who play the endless role of high schoolers. I didn't get into that as much as I did when I spoke of Em and Rose and the failed attempt at adoption they went through in the spring.
Bella listened, giving the appropriate responses as I went into detail about how the mother had changed her mind about giving up her child when her baby was born. My siblings were understanding, nevertheless they were heartbroken. A sadness clouded Bella's chocolate brown eyes while Anthony lay in my forearm, his tiny body was close to my chest as he drank from the bottle I held. Warmth radiated from his body to mine.
He was so small and warm. His green eyes were two giant saucers looking at me while I held his bottle. My little boy eagerly slurped down his meal. It was clear he enjoyed what I hunted for him. Having hunted a meal for someone so small and dependent on me brought me an unfamiliar pride. Providing for my son brought me great joy, similar pleasure to being in Bella's presence.
The fire crackled as our baby sipped down the liquid from the bottle. All the while, Bella and I chatted, one conversation lending to another. We were now talking about her pregnancy, she was telling me about everything I missed. It was nice to hear about it. Hearing her spoken words were nice, however her unspoken words had me questioning what else I missed. Every now and then I caught a man's name in her thoughts; only a name, no images or anything else. Just a first name. It started with a J and I was concerned.
"Who's Jacob?" I asked before she was done telling me how many months she endured morning sickness.
"Umm…." Bella stared at me a bit stunned.
There was something in her brown eyes that told me my question brought her sadness. The last thing I wanted was to cause her more sorrow than I already had, yet I was too curious to drop the subject. I asked again.
"Who is he?" I wondered in a gentle tone. "Who is Jacob?"
Tears welled in her eyes. They didn't fall, nor did she answer me.
Whenever she thought of Jacob there were no images in her mind, no face to put with the name. No way of knowing more about this Jacob, though clearly he meant a lot to her, which broke my dead heart into two. I couldn't help but wonder if my absence opened the door for him to take my place.
Earlier that night she claimed I was the only man she's ever been with. I could tell by the way she had spoken those words it was the absolute truth, though clearly I hadn't been the only one to court her. No. I would be foolish to believe a pretty girl like her would have no other suitors. I had just been her first, but not her only.
The thought of her with another man – no matter if they were intimate or not – did me in. Jealousy coursed through my body, going straight to my brain. It clouded my judgment, causing me to see red.
Anthony sucked hard on the bottle, so hard his suction made my hand jerk. That one small action from my son brought me out of my jealous state. My eyes took in the sight of my baby son. He immediately looked up at me. Right then I realized I would always have a piece of Bella that this Jacob did not.
Maybe it was that realization, or something else that made my jealousy die. But whatever it was, something inside my brain clicked. She was not mine.
My eyes drifted from my son to Bella. "Never mind," I said and she blinked away tears. "It doesn't matter. If we shall find our way back to one another and you wish to tell me about him, then I will listen. But until then, I will not press for answers that do not concern me."
"Really?" She asked in a shocked tone. She wiped her eyes with her right hand.
"Yes." I nodded my head. Every word I said, I meant.
"That's big of you. I thought for sure you were going to get upset by something small like you used to." She said honestly.
I shook my head. "There's more important things to think about." I admitted, my eyes glancing at Anthony then back to her.
"This is different. I know you're a lot older than your appearance, so please don't be offended when I say you seem more grown up tonight than you ever have before." She seemed impressed.
"None taken." I shrugged. Once again, my eyes drifted down to the little guy in my arms. Fatherhood was definitely changing me. It was reeling me in fast like a fish on a hook.
"Edward?" She spoke my name as a question.
"Yes?" I automatically turned to her.
"Jacob was someone who didn't know he helped me between the time you left, and me finding out about Anthony, but he did. He helped me feel normal." Bella began to explain, touching our son's foot as her arm brushed against mine. He did his best to kick her hand away and she took the hint and dropped it.
I frowned. "You don't have to explain anything to m–"
"Yes I do." She cut me off. "Otherwise you might get the wrong idea. So please listen to me, Edward Cullen. Because I saw the look in your eyes a few minutes ago and I can imagine how you felt. It probably wouldn't feel much better or any different for me if I found out you had been hanging around a girl while we were broken up. I'm sure it would hurt me. But trust me, it's not what you may think."
I opened my mouth to speak, but she stopped me.
"Please don't say a word, Edward. Just let me talk. Please?" She begged.
"Okay. Go ahead and tell me." I gave up with a heavy sigh. There seemed to be no way around this.
"Jacob isn't our age," Her tone took on this serious edge.
Stiff with stress, I began to wonder how old was is. How much older than her had he been?
As if she could read my eyes when her eyes met mine, she waisted no time in getting to the point. "He's a five-year-old boy who lives on the Rez. He's a son of one of my dad's friends that I babysat for after you left. He's the cutest kid -besides our baby- a ball of endless energy that kept me going when I probably otherwise would have been a depressed zombie." She explained in a far away tone.
"You were a babysitter?" I laughed with relief. Never before had that been a job she had.
She was right. That was definitely not what I expected. If I was being honest, I did think something else when I heard a guy's name in her mind. Never could I guess Jacob was a kid she babysat.
"Yes, I baby sit for a while." She said with a small laugh. "Only a short while. Once Charlie told Jacob's parents' I was pregnant with your baby they no longer needed my babysitting services. His mother let me know threw a very strange text."
"Oh." I grunted out the word.
"After that I wasn't allowed on the Rez. It was weird. And hurtful." She sighed. "Everyone acted like I had a contagious disease all because he was yours." She shook her head in disbelief. "It's crazy how much they don't like vampires."
Vampires don't like werewolves and vice versa. It's been that way since the dawn of time.
I did not respond.
My demeanor was not lost on her. I heard her thoughts, she caught my prejudice with another species and changed the subject. It didn't take long for us to patter about something lighter. One conversation quickly led to another, which intertwined into a couple more until our chatting came to an unsuspected halt.
"So…" Bella trailed off.
"Yeah?" I prompted. I wanted to hear what she was going to say.
"Naw, it's a dumb question. Never mind." She shook her head and a light blush colored her face.
"Just tell me whats on your mind. Please?" I begged and she shook her head.
Anthony was contently drinking his meal and Bella didn't want to tell me what she was going to say. How easily frustrated I was with not being able to read her mind. Guess some things never change.
"If you're worried I may believe what you were planning on saying to be silly, I won't." I said in a bid to get her to speak, and quickly, added, "I didn't think it was silly when you asked why I still have a flip phone instead of one that's up to date. Nor did you believe my answer to be foolish when I admitted old school phones are a bit of nostalgia for me. Your the only person who doesn't laugh at such things and–"
"That's because we get each other like no one else does." She interrupted me then fell silent.
"We do." I agreed with my crooked grin. "So, will you please tell me what you were going to say?"
Bella bit her bottom lip, and didn't respond.
"Please don't stop talking." I gazed into her chocolate brown eyes. I saw my reflection there and wondered if I was doing that dazzling thing she used to accuse me of when we were dating. "Go on. Tell me what's on your beautiful mind. It's really good to hear your voice and be here with you."
My voice was smooth and her heart sped.
"It is nice." She agreed with a dreamy sigh.
"Well?" I asked, wanting her to tell me her earlier thoughts.
"Well, the thing I was wondering before was how you became a theater kid. I never imagined you of all people in the Drama Club. How did that happen...exactly?" She asked and quickly added, "Please don't be offended. I think it's wonderful you have a hobby. It's just… just…"
"Doesn't suit me?" I finished what I thought she was going to say.
"Yeah." She gave me an unsure smile.
"You're right, it doesn't suit me." I spoke honestly which seemed to put her at ease.
"But you like it?" She wondered.
I shook my head from side to side "Not at all. I was forced into joining an after school club or sport because of my unstable mental state. I have been very miserable and withdrawn these months we were apart." I took a deep breath. It wasn't easy to admit this. "Severely depressed. So much that my grades slipped because I didn't care about anything, I had to repeat the 10th grade and also had to–"
"Whoa! You -a super smart vampire- were held back?" Her jaw fell open.
"Yes." I shamefully admitted. Unintentionally repeating a grade was not a usual occurrence for my kind, and she knew it.
"That explains why Alice was hoping she and I would be in the same grade, because you aren't." She quickly made the connection from what Alice had told her at Sizzler.
"Yeah. I'm in 10th grade for the billionth time. Alice is a Junior and Jasper is a Senior." I explained and added, "Lucky for Emmett and Rosalie, they're too old to be in school."
There was a small part of me that envied them. They were both frozen in their twenties. Emmett was twenty-five and Rosalie was twenty-one, both of them never had to repeat high school in this life the way I must. Hell! Alice and Jasper didn't have to either, both of them were nineteen. They could go to college if they wished. Yet, they rather play a younger role and be in high school with me. That definitely didn't make any sense to me. If I was nineteen I would go to a trade school, college or even get a job. Anything to quit repeating grades 9-12. However, Jasper and Alice gladly volunteer to be in high school every time we move. While I, on the other hand, never have a choice due to the age I was turned. My parents automatically enrolled me in high school without ever asking me if I wanted to go. Yet, they always gave Alice and Jasper a choice.
I thought about Jasper and Alice longer than I should. Why would anyone willingly submerged themselves in this never-ending purgatory known as high school? I had no answers for that. If there was a reason they never talked or thought about it around me. Therefore, I had no idea why they were still in high school when they didn't have to be.
"Oh." Bella said in a sad tone.
Anthony greedily drank his meal as I took in his mother's unhappy expression. For me, it wasn't hard to understand what part of the conversation made her sorrowful; she wanted to be in school and wasn't able to be. I made a silent vowel to myself that some day that would change. I would make sure she was able to enroll back in school some day soon. I wasn't sure how or when, so I didn't bring it up.
"Anyway," I continued. "My behavior became a concern for a few of my teachers. Worst of all, I was on the school counselor's radar. I heard it from his mind, but tried to ignore it because he believed I was a school scooter in the making." I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
"Seriously? The school counselor thought that?" She asked, not hiding her disbelief.
"Yes. The school counselor made my life a living hell. He made it mandatory for me to not only see him for an hour every Monday during school, but I had to sign up for an after school club or sport. Plus, he made my parents seek additional counseling services for me. Thanks to him, I go to individual counseling every Wednesday, group counseling every Friday, and a psychiatrist once a month. Everyone always wants me to talk about my feelings. It's horrible." I complained, sounding every bit like the seventeen-year-old I was frozen as.
"Wow." She breathed the word.
"Yeah. All of this is very unnecessary and a waste of my time." I exhaled.
"You've never had to go to counseling before?" She wondered.
"Never." I shook my head, my eyes on her. I knew there was a time when she was younger she had gone to counseling. She was familiar with it, but it was foreign to me.
She met my gaze and something changed. Both of us fell silent. It wasn't uncomfortable or dead air, definitely not that. This non vocal moment had electricity pulsing between us. I was in love with this beautiful girl and I wondered if she still felt the same. Not wanting to ask and ruin the moment, I didn't. Though there was something else that had my curiosity reeling. I couldn't stay closed-mouthed for any longer.
"You never did tell me where your seasoned truck is." I all but whispered the words. My tone was husky and made her heart race. Talking softly was an accident and no way was I trying to be desirable.
"Um... It died in the place where Joshua trees grow." She whispered back. Her tone was so sexy.
A part of my brain wondered what would happen if I kept this whisper-talk up. That is until Anthony's tiny foot kicked my chin and I realized it might not be proper to continue talking that way with a child present. Who knows what could have happened.
I cleared my throat and spoke in my normal tone. "Where is that exactly?"
"In the high desert in California. It was a miracle it got me that far." She said in a far away tone. "After it died, I ended up hitchhiking to Los Angeles."
Thinking about how dangerous that could be, I shuttered. Anthony wiggled against my chest.
"I know that sounds bad but it's not." She reassured me. "A nice middle aged lady gave me a lift. I explained my situation to her when she asked why I was alone on a dark desert highway at night. She ended up buying me dinner before she made a few calls and took me to a shelter for pregnant and teen mothers. That was the first shelter I stayed at."
"That was nice of her." I said and she agreed.
We were quiet for a time, just staring at each other. Anthony was the one who broke the silence with an angry screech. His bottle was empty – who knows when he had finished drinking – yet, his throat still burned and he wasn't satisfied; he wanted more. Luckily, I had another bottle of rabbit's blood ready for him. I swapped the empty one for the full one and he contently began suckling.
"Bella, tell me more about your journey." I encouraged her as I looked at our son.
Hearing about her expedition might be painful since I was the cause of it, but I needed to hear about it. I wanted to know what my foolish mistake put her through. All the hardships she went through because of me.
Bella didn't hesitated. She told me about her travels thru California, Nevad, Idaho, and finally Oregon. She explained she had crossed state lines, never staying in one place for too long to try to keep her father off of her trail if he was even looking for her. She told me everything I wanted to know and much more. There were times I could tell she downplayed a few things, but I didn't let on that I knew. I let her speak, soaking up her voice, scent, and the knowledge about what she had been doing without me. A few times I had to guard my reactions to a few things that happened to her in different shelters. Those were the times I concentrated on Anthony. The heat from his little body was making me feel warm as vibrations from his heart thumped threw my chest. Those vibrations were giving me the illusion I had a heartbeat. I liked that feeling.
"So, that's it." Bella concluded her tale with a shrug of her shoulders. "That's me. I left high school in 10th grade, left my father and the town I once knew. All so I wouldn't be forced into having an abortion. I had to make sure my… I mean. . . . Our baby was safe." She corrected herself.
"Bella, everything you did was to protect our child," I wanted to hug her, but didn't want to disturbed Anthony. I quickly and gently turned my body toward her. Gingerly, my elbow connected with her side, and a smile played on her lips. I continued. "Even though being on your own couldn't have been easy, I'm proud of you for protecting our baby. It's what a good mother does."
"Thank you." She spoke softly. She couldn't help but smile. Then all too soon, the corners of her mouth slumped down into frown.
My words were supposed to be comforting and reassuring, yet they seem to have the opposite effect on her. Her beautiful features went from a neutral expression, to joyful, to despair in 2.5 seconds.
Looking at this beautiful girl sitting next to me, I began to feel a deep sadness. At the moment I was unable to read her mind, though there wasn't any need to do so. Knowing her as well as I do I had a feeling where her thoughts drifted off to. There wasn't any need to ask why she was downhearted by my words of praise. So, it surprised me when she spoke.
"I'm sure it's what my mom would've done if she would have been in the same position." She spoke in a sad tone.
"I'm sure." I agreed with her.
She nodded her head, and we both stopped talking. The only sound besides the crackling fire was our baby drinking his dinner. He was really enjoying his meal.
Through our hushed moment Bella tilted her head and gazed at the stars. At the same moment I looked up to the sky my mind filled with static. At first it was soft, then quickly became loud. I patiently waited for my mind to tune into Bella's.
'I miss her.' Bella's "voice" was heartbroken.
"I know." I replied to her unspoken words.
Long ago when we first met I had asked about her parents, she had a hard time telling me about her mother. Bella was eleven when her mother had a heart attack caused by an untreated UTI. It had been tough for her to retell the event of finding her mom unconscious in the bedroom her parents shared one afternoon when she came home from school. However, it had been even more difficult for her to retell about her father taking her everyday to the hospital to visit her mother, who was sedated and hooked up on machines. After a month on a ventilator the plug was pulled, Mrs. Swan passed away too soon. Since her and the chief of police had children later in life – in their late forties – Bella was their one and only. It was only Bella and her father after her mother's passing.
I never met her mother, but I knew her father, of course. He was sixty two when we met – seven years older than my mother and ten years older than my father, in their human years that is. Charlie wasn't warm like my father, though he wasn't exactly cold either. He was more aloof and a tad bit grumpy to everyone besides his daughter. Even though I was a hundred and twenty four year old vampire I never wanted to get on his bad side. Especially after I witnessed him chew out the trash man when the trash can was being empty and a bag broke on a windy day. Trash littered his front lawn and Charlie was livid.
To say Charlie was a bit of a control freak with a bad temper was putting it mildly. However, Bella overlooked his flaws and adored him. She once told me when her mom was alive, her dad was a different man. He was kind, caring, compassionate to all, and someone who enjoyed fishing. That all changed with grief. However, losing his wife did not excuse his behavior for attempting to force Bella into having an abortion. That was inexcusable. It was her body, her choice.
Anger for what Charlie did – how he caused Bella to run away when she was pregnant – bubbled up inside me. How could a father be so heartless and cruel? How could he take the side of his friend instead of listening to his own daughter? Did he have any idea how much more difficult he made her pregnancy when it wasn't easy to begin with, because I left? Did he even care?
Red hot anger flowed through my body as those thoughts raced through my mind. My hands had the urge to ball into fist and sock a tree. The only thing stopping that from happening was Anthony. He was in my arms, the sound of his heartbeat calmed me. I peered down at him and my annoyance with his estranged grandfather simmered. My son's big green eyes were on me as he greedily sucked the bottle I was holding for him.
"Anthony, are you enjoying your first fresh meal?" I asked in an odd high-pitched tone.
His only response was to stare at me while he drank.
I watched in amazement as my tiny son drank the last drops of blood. He really enjoyed the rabbit I caught for him. He continued to furiously suck on the nipple even though there was no more blood in the bottle. His little mitten covered hands were on mine as his thoughts told me he didn't want me to remove the bottle.
"Okay. You can continue sucking on it, but there's no more liquid in it." I chuckled at this one sided conversation.
"Oh no!" Bella spoke rapidly. She snatched the bottle out of my hand and our son's mouth. Anthony whined. He still wanted the bottle.
"Why?" I turned to her to see a panicked expression on her face. Immediately, I realized I did something wrong. But what? I wasn't sure.
"Letting him suck on air isn't good. It'll give him gas. Lots of gas that will be very uncomfortable for him and for me. Because if he's not comfortable he keeps me awake at night." She quickly explained.
"My apologies. I didn't know." My tone was regretful. I would never want to do anything to harm him. Quickly, I took a mental note of not letting Anthony suck on an empty bottle.
"It's okay." Bella automatically said.
The next thing I knew my son's complexion was becoming the color of an eggplant as he cried. Bella removed him from my arms. She made quick work retrieving a burp cloth from the diaper bag that sat by her feet. She slung the cloth over her shoulder and got our son situated to burp. All the while, I couldn't help feeling the emptiness from no longer holding him. It was the odd sensation of missing a limb; I needed him. I need her. I really needed both of them with me from now on.
"Bella," I said in a serious tone.
"Yes, Edward?" She was so beautiful by the light of the fire with our baby held against her chest.
"I'm very grateful you had the option to stay at homeless shelters for teen mothers when you would have otherwise been on the streets." I began, not taking my eyes off her and our baby. "Though there is nothing to replace a real home with people that love you and want to meet and help take care of Anthony. What I'm saying is, would you like to come home with me tonight?"
Bella swallowed loudly and Anthony let out a giant burp.
I waited for her to speak, though she did not. Her mind was unfortunately closed off to me as it normally had been so there was no way to tell what she was thinking. But one thing was for sure, I've seen that same look that was on her face before. It was the same unsure expression mixed with being done with the path the universe has given you, and being grateful someone has offered you a different road to lead. Yet, not being confident with receiving help when it's offered to you. Afraid that things will get worse, not better. Because that's what has been happening so far.
Yes, I knew that facial expression very well. Though it wasn't on her face but mine, back in the 1930's when I caught my reflection in an old woman's spectacles.
Embers crackled and a light breeze blew the leaves on the ground while memories flickered across my mind. Images from a little more than nine decades played out in my mind like scenes on a movie screen.
Far away and long ago I believed I knew what was best for me. I desired the forbidden paradise and saw a way to get to it. With a cocky l attitude I left home and set out on my own, picturing castles and diamonds. Though that was far from what I got. I was so naive back then, I honestly believed I would be livin' it up like Dracula when I left my parents. Instead, I had lived in the shadows taking up residency in old runned down buildings in the sketchy parts of towns. No one questioned when clothing, shoes, or even books would come up missing from the little shops on main street. A theft in the night, I fit in well with all the riff raff that surrounded me. No one ever caught me.
I stoled, cheated, and lied. Everything my parents (biological and adopted) taught me not to do, I did the opposite. Though childishly I believed hunting the worst of criminals would atone for my sins. What a fool I was to think that, just as believing I needed no one was. It was all plain stupid. Being a traditional vampire, feeding from humans, and only coming out at night was only great for so long. After a year and a half it took a toll on me.
Back in those days I looked like myself but I felt like somebody else. The weight I carried was too much to bear, that was evident by the expression on my face – the same one that was on Bella's now. Some months after I saw that look on my face, I ended up returning to Carlisle and Esme who welcomed me in with open arms. They were the two people I loved, needed, and trusted. Too bad it took me so long to come to that conclusion and it didn't happen on my own. It took an encounter with a sweet elderly woman and her husband at a bus stop to help me see my mistakes and quit blaming my father for things I could not change.
Going back home was liberating in ways I could not explain. It was where I belonged though I was not the only young vampire in the house anymore. My parents had adopted two others who were older than me. Rosalie and Emmett were a married couple in their twenties when they were inducted into our family. Carlisle had found them clinging to life while he was on a hunting trip one night. The young couple had been camping in the woods in Appalachia. A bear had wandered into their campsite, ate their food, and attacked them when they tried to sneak away. The worst part was Em and Rose were not alone, they had two toddlers, Amelia and Jack with them. My father had been too late to save the children but he was able to successfully turn the two adults.
By the time I met my new siblings it was obvious they were mates overcoming grief. They were also fairly new to this life, their bright red eyes gave that away. Even though my parents had two other children whom they were helping become acclimated to our diet, they still took time for me. My parents made sure I relearned all the self control I once knew.
It was my parents' love and devotion that helped me adjust to our vegetarian lifestyle. As well as the praise from Rosalie every time she'd heard about me draining an animal dry. Or the hunting competitions Emmett would come up with whenever he could tell I was struggling to work up an appetite for animals. There were times he let me kill the biggest bear and win the contest because he knew I needed a confidence boost. I let both of them treat me like a child every now and then, always being grateful I was part of something that was bigger than myself: A family.
The love of a family was nothing I could ever replace. Nor did I ever want to, ever again. Which was why I was hoping Bella would agree to go home with me. Being in a real house surrounded by people who loved and would help her was best for her and our baby.
"Please say you'll come home with me tonight." I said when she did not speak.
Bella glanced at me unsure. For a split second I heard her thoughts. They were very conflicted; she was trying to decide if she should accept my offer or part ways with me and go back to the shelter for the night, then meet up with me the next morning. Readjusting Anthony, placing him in a cradle position in her arms, she bit her bottom lip as she thought about what was best for herself and our son. Her thoughts shut off for me then, and her eyes watered.
My dead heart broke. She was scared to trust me and rightfully so. I lied to her and made a mess of things, but this was my chance to make things right for my little family.
"If you agree to go to my house, it doesn't have to be permanent. Not if you don't want to. You are free to leave though I do want to be a part of our son's life." I placed my hand on the small of her back and her pulse quickened.
"When you say go back to your place…do you mean sleep in the same bed with you? Like we used to when you would sneak into my room?" She asked, her voice was two octaves too high. Anthony let out a little cry. "Sorry, baby." She said softer, rocking him.
I shook my head no. For some reason her face fell. Or maybe I imagining that. I really wasn't sure since it happened so rapidly.
"There's extra rooms; you can pick one to stay in with Anthony. Even if it's just for one night." I reassured her.
I meant what I said though I hoped it would be for more than one night if she agreed. I wanted to make sure she and our child had a safe and loving home with their needs meant. Not to mention family surrounding them.
Bella sat there holding Anthony. Her heart hammered in her chest and she didn't speak. I moved my hand from her back to her shoulder, holding her in a half embrace.
"So, what do you say?" I wanted to know. "Will you spend the night at my house so I can get to know our son? Please?"
She chewed on her bottom lip in hesitation. "Curfew is at ten, that's in a couple of hours. If I'm so much as one minute late Anthony and I will get kicked out. I can't risk that. We just got there two days ago and the maximum length to stay is sixteen days. Unless, I do something to get kicked out and I don't plan on it."
I sighed. She wasn't going to make this easy. "If you really don't wish to leave, just call and tell them you're spending the night at a friend's house. Then you can go back tomorrow." I shrugged, hoping if she did spend the night at my house she wouldn't feel the need to return to the temporary housing.
"It's against the rules to spend the night anywhere." She explained. "If I'm going to live at the shelter for the next two weeks I have to follow the rules or I lose my spot. They don't make exceptions for any one. I have to follow the rules."
Well, that wasn't an outright no, at least I didn't take it that way. There was still a glimmer of hope.
"All right," I said more to myself than to her. "Then how about this," I spoke in a smooth tone, my eyes locked with hers. "You leave the shelter and let me take care of you and our baby an–"
"All of our stuff is there." She cut me off.
"Don't freat. We'll go to the shelter and grab yours and Anthony's belongings before we go to my house." I reassured her.
Our baby gurgled then yawned. It was a sweet sound.
"He's sleepy." Bella stated the obvious.
"Yes he is. So, what do you say about my offer?" I wanted to know.
"Ummm…" Bella let her voice trail off as she rocked Anthony back and forth in her arms. With the soothing movement, his eyes began to close.