BPOV
"This is a good summary," Em tells Hadley while he helps her with her English paper.
I watch them while stirring the mac and cheese I'm making on the stove.
I've officially been living with Edward and Hadley for three weeks and one might say Emmett has as well.
He's here after work when he's not out with friends.
He eats our food and watches trash TV with me and Hadley after her homework is done.
Edward seems to be a good sport about it, especially with Em consuming all his bougie food. One might think Em would eat on my side of the pantry, but nope, he goes right for the organic rice krispy treats and avocado oil sea salt chips.
I might have also taste-tested the difference between his and my snacks and understand why they both enjoy them.
Jake has been scarce and I'm surprised he hasn't tried to weasel his way into Em's roommate slot. Rumor has it that some dude named Brady who works in the PR department at ESPN is taking my room.
Not sure if it's wise that Em is moving a colleague in, but who am I to have an opinion on the matter?
"My mom read the book with me," I hear Hadley explain to him.
Rose was back from rehab and has been really making an effort with Hadley. She goes to Esme and Carlisle's three days a week after school to see her mother. Edward has rules and boundaries when it comes to Rose visiting the house. As of right now, she isn't allowed.
Edward's lawyer also recommended supervised visitation in order to ease both Hadley and Rose into a routine before they discuss custody.
I could see how uneasy Edward was about sharing her with Rose again, but with how much she was trying, it was sort of inevitable.
"Did she like it?" Em asks amused.
He knows Rose better than I do and I can see that he finds her reading To Kill a Mockingbird funny.
Hadley's nose scrunches as she shakes her head.
"No, but…" she trails off.
"It's just not Rose's jam, Em," I say, jumping in to smooth over an awkward moment.
They don't have much in common but Rose is trying with the reading since Had is so passionate about it.
"Yeah, she didn't like it, but we're starting Harry Potter," Hadley tells him while she pushes her glasses up on her nose.
Em perks up because the dude loves Harry Potter, he has all of them shoved under his bed. He has all his geek supply under there actually, I might have been bored and nosey one day.
I turn off the stove, drain the water from the mac, and proceed to cut the Velveeta packet and squeeze the cheese sauce into the mac.
"You want a corn dog too?" I ask Em.
He reluctantly looks up from the screen.
I frown.
He can't be that engrossed in Had's paper.
"Uh, Ed let's her eat that shit?" he asks surprised.
I glare at his use of language in front of her.
"He's running late and I have dinner service tonight so this is dinner," I defend.
Hadley smiles at me before she addresses Em. "This is my favorite on a busy night," she tells him.
He nods but is still engrossed by my laptop.
I come around the island to see what exactly is holding his attention.
"What are you—" I freeze mid-sentence to see he's no longer reading Had's paper but my essays or whatever they are.
I'm not so sure what I've written, I only know that it's been cathartic in a sense. It's about relationships and… mothers. You don't need to be someone's biological mother to be their mother.
I wrote from experience and observation.
"This is really good, Bells," Em says in awe without his eyes leaving the screen.
Hadley is now reading along with him, her brows furrowed in concentration. I didn't use names, it was just more so the concept of motherhood or what my experience with it was.
It's hard for me to explain it and I wasn't planning on anyone reading it. It helped me get my thoughts in order.
Thoughts that included Renee and her selfishness. From abandoning me on my first day of school to trying to use me for some sort of Government assistance with her school financing and lastly trying to use me to hurt my primary parent.
Esme and her maternal instincts. She lost her parents but became one for her brother and maybe even me.
Rose and the hold her addiction had on her. She at one point chose substances over her own child and was now trying to put in the work to find her way back to Hadley.
My own experience being a mother is dating a single father and now living with him. We share the task of getting Hadley up and ready for school. Some nights I'm on homework duty and others he is. He trusts me with her life and I make it my mission to be there for her when she needs me.
"Did you write this because of your mom?" Hadley asks curiously.
I shrug helplessly.
"Uh, want to get washed up for dinner?" I suggest hoping she'll listen.
She nods and takes off for the half bath to wash her hands.
That could have bit me since we're in the kitchen where there is a sink and all.
"You have no boundaries," I snap at Em while I take my laptop away from him.
"Hey, I was saving Hadley's work and caught—"
"Something you shouldn't be sticking your nose in," I finish with a glare. "You know this isn't the first time you've overstepped. You like to be super chatty with Rose—"
"Hold on," he stops me.
"No, you hold on," I hiss, pointing my finger at him. "You told Rose I have been writing, why are you discussing me at all."
"We're friends," he argues.
"We are, but friends don't just offer up information to a baby mama who despises the other friend. How do you know she's not using you so she can load up for a custody case?" I yell low so Hadley doesn't hear me.
"Rose isn't like that—"
"She is like that," I counter frankly.
The kitchen door opens as Edward walks in looking concerned.
"Hey, I turned the TV on for Hadley in the living room, things sounded… intense in here," he says as he looks between us warily.
"Sorry," I apologize while I still glare at Em.
"What did I miss?" Edward asks, taking his place by my side.
"Em invading my privacy—"
"Hardly, I was helping Hadley with her paper and then opened a Word doc with Bella's writing or more so her book," Em explains giving me a meaningful look.
"Book?" Edward asks, looking a little surprised and confused.
"Book," I snort, rolling my eyes
Em reaches forward and takes my laptop from me. He fiddles around for a second before turning it toward Edward for him to see my work.
"If she doesn't want me to see—"
"He already has seen it, why the hell not, take a look," I gesture to the laptop before turning to finish Hadley's dinner.
Edward is reading what's in front of him as I move to the microwave to pop the corn dog in. It takes a minute to make and I plate Hadley's food.
"She gets to eat in the living room tonight and I'm getting ready for work," I announce without argument.
When I enter the living room Hadley sits up.
"Is Em in trouble?" she asks.
"He'll live to see another day," I tell her before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm going to get ready for work."
She nods and starts chowing down.
I'm almost dressed in something suitable to wear and have my bag ready with my uniform when Edward walks into our bedroom.
"What you've written—"
"It's just random thoughts," I huff, feeling stripped down.
"Bell, what you've written is… articulate… thoughtful… beautiful," he says earnestly while he searches for the words.
I stare at him.
"You think?" I ask quietly.
He nods, taking a seat on the bed.
"Did you have a plan with it?" he asks.
"No, it just sort of flowed out of me. The intention was for it to live on my laptop forever," I explain feeling lost.
"Do you want my opinion?"
"Sure," I tell him.
"Before you make any decisions you should let Es and Alice read it," he offers.
"Well if they read it then you and Em might as well read it all too," I say with a sigh.
Having the most important people read this makes me feel exposed somehow. Like I'm telling them to see my innermost thoughts laid out.
I nod.
"Okay, I'll put it on a thumb drive and you all can have at it," I agree.
He takes my hands in his and pulls me until I'm standing between his legs. He looks up at me with a smile.
"Thank you," he says simply.
"For what?" I ask curiously.
"For agreeing to share your work with all of us," he says sincerely.
"You're welcome, but don't you complain to me if it's complete garbage," I tell him as I cup his face.
He rolls his eyes.
I squeeze his cheeks and give him a smooch.
"I'm going to be late for work if I don't leave now."
He nods before cracking a smirk.
"Corn dog and mac and cheese," he says, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm letting my girl live," I tell him with one more peck before I move out of his hold and grab my bag.
"Are you going out after work?" he asks.
It sucks that he only pops in from time to time to help out at the bar but he's been swamped with grant proposals at work and with Rose being away he was Hadley's sole caregiver so I get it. I think he gets fomo when he can't meet us at Tavern but he doesn't ever voice it or complain.
"I might have a date with your sister and Jazz after hours," I tease. "Don't wait up."
I throw him a kiss and he follows me out of the bedroom.
Emmett's sitting on the couch with Hadley eating his corn dog and mac and cheese, his eyes meet mine and he looks afraid.
Good, he should be.
"Your boy talked me into letting you read the essays," I announce while grabbing my coat off the hook.
"Sah-wwweeeet," Em sings from the couch.
Hadley giggles before she gets up and comes over to give me a hug bye.
"See ya in the a.m," I tell her. "Word is someone has to head into work early so you know what that means."
"Pop Tarts," she grins.
"I heard that," Edward says from behind us.
"So," I shrug.
I kiss Hadley's head before I turn around and lay a goodbye kiss on her dad's lips. He tugs on my ponytail telling me to be good before sending me on my way.
On the train, I start to panic a little because every important person I care about will be reading my writing. I know I didn't slam anyone in it but I do discuss hard truths to some very delicate dynamics. To be honest, I'm more afraid of Renee reading it and trying to come after me legally if anything were to come of it.
Again, there are no names, just my experiences, but I never indicate that they're mine. Renee is more of an archetype of a mother who outright abandons her child. If she recognizes herself in that, then it isn't my problem.
Maybe I should get a pen name.
Maybe she wouldn't say anything at all because it would mean that she had to admit to what she had done.
Maybe I'm jumping the fucking gun. Who's to say anyone other than my people will be interested in it?
Once I'm at work Jazz seems to be waiting in the locker room for me.
"Hello?" I say cautiously as I pass him for my locker.
"Hey, I wanted to catch you before you head out for the staff meal," he says.
"What's up?" I ask, placing my bag on the shelf and grabbing my worktop.
"Rose is back—"
"She's not back until next week," I argue, quickly changing my clothes.
Esme would have said something.
"Bossman and Es are having a blowout in the office as we speak, but I guess Rose begged him to let her start today. I heard him say she said something about needing to get into her new routine," he explains.
I nod.
A feeling of familiarity washes over me, like Rose just can't help herself but then I try to be understanding. She's been really good with Hadley since she's been back, not that I've seen it. Esme reports it back to Edward after every visit.
She could be going stir-crazy and feel the need to keep busy.
"Is she witnessing this fight?" I ask horrified as I button up my pants.
"She's sitting with her old crew out in the dining room," he tells me.
I grab my work shoes and sit on the couch to slip them on.
"I guess we just have to see how she behaves," I say with a sigh.
He nods.
"Just thought I'd give you a heads up," he says with a smile. "I texted Ed too."
I shake my head and move back to my locker, when I grab my phone I have a text from him. A warning.
Rose is working tonight. - E
I roll my eyes.
"Yeah, I wonder if he'll pop in with Had," I say dryly. "Right now, let's just give her a chance."
I lead the way out into the dining room while Jazz follows.
Rose is easy to spot as she sits surrounded by her cronies. I only hope that our current coexistence doesn't dissolve tonight.
A/N: I'm thinking two chapters left and a epilogue. I'll miss these three and Emmett! If you haven't checked it out yet, I posted the first chapter of my next fic, Paper Rings. I'll start posting twice a week once this one is done. Let me know if you like it!