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Chapter 3

Charlie and the First Quiet Night

What did he suddenly have?

But he had himself under control again the next moment and distracted me by holding the water glass in front of my nose.

When I took it from him, our hands touched, and I felt a tingling in my fingers.

Apparently so did Edward, because he looked me in the eyes so intensely that I forgot to breathe.

Man, he really confused me up, too.

He grinned again!

Could he read minds or what was going on here?

He opened his eyes wide and looked at me in shock!

What's going on?

... I wrote on the piece of paper.

What on earth was wrong with him?

"Oh ... Um ... I just remembered that I ... um ... yeah, I forgot I had to take something to the hospital for my dad. Sorry!"

He literally jumped up and ran to the door.

I went after him and was about to open the door for him when he suddenly turned to me. I had not expected it and ran into him, would have even almost fallen over, if he had not wrapped his arms around me.

Umm ... that felt really nice to be in his arms.

Edward grinned wryly, hugged me tighter for a moment, and gave me a fleeting kiss on the forehead.

Then he turned around with a "See you!", yanked open the door and was already in his car the next moment, speeding away.

I was standing in the doorway, completely confused, and was about to close it when a police car pulled up.

Dad.

I ran towards him and literally jumped into his arms when he had closed the door of the car.

"Hey Bells. I'm insanely happy to see you too!"

He also gave me a kiss on the forehead.

Why had Edward done that?, the thoughts immediately shot through my head. And above all, why did I find that so beautiful and there was also this tingling when our hands touched. What was wrong with me? I have never been very interested in boys.

"Was your flight good? Do you have your things in your room yet?", Charlie snapped me out of my thoughts with his questions.

I nodded quickly.

Charlie asked exactly the right questions. It would be easy to live with him. At least that's what I hoped.

"Okay, did Edward carry your bags up for you?"

I nodded.

"He's a nice boy, isn't he!"

So that's where the wind was blowing from, I thought with a grin, but nodded again.

We continued to talk all day, with Charlie asking yes and no questions like in an interrogation, and me either shaking my head or nodding. Every now and then I wrote a short sentence on the paper I had already used for Edward, but Charlie made it very easy for me.

It had been a beautiful day and when I tiredly fell into bed in the evening, for the first time in many months the nightmares I already knew all too well stayed away. Instead, my dreams revolved mainly around one person.

I really couldn't believe that after such a short time I was already dreaming about him: Edward Cullen!

When I woke up the next morning, I felt fine. It was cloudy outside, not as sunny as in Phoenix, where it felt like I was walking through town with a spotlight over my head. Here it was pleasant!

When I came out of the bathroom dressed and freshly showered and went into the kitchen, the table was already set.

Charlie had gone to get rolls. He folded up his newspaper and looked at me questioningly.

"You like buns, don't you?"

I nodded with a smile.

After breakfast, I set about doing the dishes.

"Say, Bells. Do you mind if Dr. Cullen comes over later with Edward and his two brothers and we watch baseball together?"

I shook my head, grabbed my piece of paper and wrote:

Do you want me to cook for the four of them?

"No, that's not necessary, Bella." He looked a little nervous. "The Cullens always eat at home. You don't have to cook for us either, though. We can order a pizza. After all, you're not here as my maid, Bells!"

That's okay. I'm happy to do it.

... was my simple answer and I smiled at Charlie.

He grumbled an "okay" and conceded defeat.

I was suddenly totally excited.