I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and the plot of the story.
A huge thank you to my beta Madmooey18 for putting in the effort and helping me make this story what it is.
Author's Note at the end.
Bella shrugs into her coat as she hangs up the phone on Edward. Somehow, somewhere along the line, she has come to care for Edward. Sweet sensitive Edward who wouldn't hurt a fly was just shot in the shoulder and she doesn't know what to do with the intense fear that has been clutching her heart in its fist since she found out.
She taps her foot in the elevator as she waits for it to reach the ground level.
When did it get this slow?
It's not slow. This is how fast it usually goes. You are just nervous.
I am not nervous.
Yes you are. Edward is a friend. Of course you won't feel okay till you see for yourself that he is fine.
Bella sighs in relief the moment the elevator reaches the ground floor and rushes out of the elevator ignoring the greeting the building security sent her way. She quickly hails a cab and tells him the address promising to give him double the fee if he can get her there in 15 minutes.
Through the window of the backseat of the cab, she watches the city speed by as the cab driver reaches the highest speed limit and makes impossible turns and twists to get her there in 15 minutes. He fails at that by two minutes but she decides to give him double the fee anyway, not out of the kindness of her heart, but because she doesn't want to wait around for the change, and before long she finds herself ringing the bell at Edward's door.
After a minute, the door swings open and she is met by Carlisle. "Come in, Bella." He ushers her in and once she is inside, he takes her coat from her and hangs it in the coat closet.
"How do you do?" Bella asks him, feeling awkward as she doesn't know where Edward's room is and isn't familiar with Carlisle.
"Come on, Bella. I am pretty sure you're not here for a chit chat. Edward asked me to bring you to his room," Carlisle tells her, putting her out of her misery of making small talk.
"Is he okay?" Bella asks worriedly. Yes, Edward told her that he is okay, but she can see Edward lying to make her feel better. He is the kind of person who would do that because he is mindful of others feelings.
"He has to take it easy for the next two weeks, but once he heals he will be as good as new," he replies.
She sighs in relief and walks in silence behind Carlisle until they reach the doorway of Edward's bedroom. She pauses in the doorway unsure for a moment until Edward spots her and something in his eyes compels her to go to him. His left shoulder is bandaged and his arm is in a sling. He is wearing a worn cotton sleeveless shirt, and despite all of that she had never seen a smile more beautiful than the one he sports as he watches her slowly walk into the room.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Bella asks him in a soft, gentle voice. She's unsure if he has a head injury and is sensitive to sounds or not. He told her he got shot in the shoulder, but what if he also fell to the ground and hit his head after that?
Edward smiles at her and replies, "I am great." Then he pauses for a moment and glances toward his mother before his gaze turns back to Bella and he tells her, "I would feel even better if someone would stop badgering me."
Groaning, Esme sets the plate of soup aside on the bedside table and turns to Bella, "I give up. He is a difficult patient. He's all yours. Make sure he doesn't die from starvation."
Bella nods her head still looking at Edward as she tells her, "I will make sure he eats." Bella hears their footsteps as they leave followed by the front door closing.
"What did you do to yourself?" Bella asks as she walks the rest of the way to his bed.
"We got ambushed and someone was aiming at Paul's head so I tackled him to the ground to get him out of the bullet's way," he tells her, reaching for the glass of water at the bedside table.
She hands it to him then sits at his bed as she asks him, "Paul?"
"He's my driver and bodyguard. You'll meet him," he explains.
She nods her head slowly and then picks up the bowl of soup. It's when he gives her a look, she just raises an eyebrow in challenge and he huffs out, "Fine. I'll eat it."
She slowly feeds him as she grumbles, "Stop pouting. My two boys at home have a cuter pout. You aren't getting out of finishing this."
He drops the pout and is silent for a moment as he chews the veggies in the soup then swallows before he tells her, "I wanna ask you something, but feel free not to answer if you don't want to."
She meets his eyes and nods her head but then realizes that the position they are in is too intimate for her comfort, so she looks at the bowl as she continues feeding him.
"You are obviously pro-choice, so why did you decide to keep the boys, especially Adam when you were very young? You don't strike me as someone who wanted to be a mum as a teen," he asks her softly.
She contemplates her next words for a moment and then tells him, "Sometimes, it's not a choice."
Not seeming to notice the sad look on her face, Edward states, "I can see how it might not feel like a choice. I've never been in that position and I don't think I will be in a position in which an unplanned pregnancy will happen and I won't be able to end it even if I want to. I guess motherhood and parenthood aren't for everyone."
Bella smiles nodding her head and tells him, "It isn't," and then feeds him the last spoon and gets up. "I'm going to put this in the kitchen sink and come back."
Parenthood isn't for everyone. some people becoming parents is child endangerment. People who think of their kids as an extension of themselves, or view them as a vanity project, should especially not have children. She knows that parenthood for everyone. She lived She lived with a parent whose only positive contribution to her existence is his sperms.
Deep in her thoughts, she walks slowly down the stairs toward the kitchen, and places the bowl in the sink only to turn around and be scared half to death by Edward standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "What are you doing here?" she demands with her hand on her heart.
"What? You didn't hear me stomping down the stairs behind you. You must be thinking about something really important," he tells her in surprise.
"You didn't answer my question?" she retorts as she walks to him till she is standing a couple of inches away from him.
He looks down at her as he replies, "I got tired of my bedroom. I don't need to stay in bed. It's just a shoulder."
Without her heels, their height difference is noticeable which is something he points out to her. "I didn't expect you to be this much shorter than me without heels."
Bella fights the urge to smack him and walks back to his bedroom as she tells him, "Since you are not staying in bed and feel good enough to mock my height, I can leave knowing you are fine."
"The door is down," Edward tells her in confusion while trying to scramble for an excuse to keep her.
She turns around to face him and says, "My bag is in your bedroom," and then continues walking.
"Come on, Bella. I didn't mean it to come out as a criticism. You don't need me to tell you that you are taller than the average man in America," he explains, fighting the urge to pout. He isn't about to remind her of her children. Nothing is attractive about a person reminding you of your children.
"I don't feel offended it's just that I came to check on you and since I know that you are okay, I don't feel the need to stay," Bella tells him defensively.
I'm not bothered. Why does he think I'm bothered?
Maybe because you made your height your entire personality and you take any mention of it as an insult.
That's not true.
Sweetie you are a model. Your entire career choice is driven by your height.
"Can't you stay with me anyway?" he asks her as they walk down the stairs.
It feels like he is asking her for more than just that. "You do know that I have kids and a life?" she asks him jokingly, feeling the air get heavy and trying to lighten it.
He rolls his eyes and tells her, "I am not asking you to stay young forever and fly to Neverland. I am just asking that you stay for a couple of hours."
Bella pauses for a minute to think. She has a bad feeling about this, and she has many things to do, but then a small voice inside of her whispers that she should try.
What's the worst thing that could happen?
She nods her head and tells him, "Okay, but if you piss me off I will leave."
"I won't, I promise. Now what should we do?"
She shrugs her shoulders and he scratches his head trying to find something to do. "Let's face it. You are an artist that is overworked in the corporate world and I am a mum who is spinning too many plates at the same time. We will never find something fun to do because most of the time we are too tired to have fun."
He laughs at her statement and then gets an idea. "Let's do the things that come easy for us at work. The things that are fun," he tells her excitedly.
She looks at him skeptically as she asks him, "What do you want me to do? Act out a scene or strike a pose for you?"
"I'll play the piano," he tells her, not letting her skepticism get to him.
"Isn't your shoulder injured?" she asks him not sure it's a good idea.
He just leads her to the piano as he tells her, "I am good enough to play with one hand."
"You are left handed and your left shoulder is injured," she points out, still skeptical of his idea. It's not that she doesn't want to hear him play. It's just that men have fragile egos and she can't handle this not going well and him spending the rest of their time together trying to woo her to compensate for his shitty playing when he was injured.
"Would you like to improvise a scene for me?" he wonders. That shut her up. "Okay then, follow me," he tells her as he opens a dark room.
She steps into the room and feels like she just stepped into a cave. The room has jagged walls and there are cables everywhere. The room is dimly lit and the couches look like pillows begging to be sunk into.
"So this is where the magic happens?" Bella asks, looking around in wonder and spots Edward making his way toward the piano in the corner. He lifts the lid up and looks at her expectantly as if waiting for her to make a request.
"Just play whatever you can do with one hand," she tells him as she finally succumbs to the couch's call.
Slowly, soft notes with sad undertones start tickling her senses. She closes her eyes and lets herself be consumed by the music. Soon after that, Edward starts singing.
Your wistful smile has a bind on me and I don't mind
I raised a white flag when you stole my soul cause I don't mind you in control
Darling, I would risk a heartbreak if you would just listen
Even as you act like being closed off is your life's mission
I'll fight for us even if it's with you
I'll try my best to get us through
Being away from you cuts deeper than a knife
I don't want to miss you for the rest of my life
You keep digging us six feet under forgetting that I'll find us rain or thunder
I know that you keep adding salt to your injury but it's okay
Open windows, I'll let the sun into the dark ages of your days
Darling, I'd risk a heartbeat if it's not yours
give me directions and I'll take all the detours
I'll fight for us even if it's with you
I'll try my best to get us through
Being away from you cuts deeper than a knife
I don't want to miss you for the rest of my life
Dance with me in the middle of the night
Let go and I will hold you tight
Cause your love is worth the fight
Cross the line and I'll keep us upright
Am not about to become out of sight and out of mind
I'll fight for us even if it's with you
I'll try my best to get us through
Even when your words cut deeper than a knife
I'd never cut you out of my life
Once the music stops, Edward sets his sight on Bella and waits for her to open her eyes. "What do you think of the song? Dalida and I have been working on it for a week. She came up with the chorus. It's almost finished and everything else we worked on together."
Edward stumbles through his words. He isn't sure what he was thinking singing this to her.
"It's beautiful," she whispers. She feels strange. She isn't shallow and she's not self-centered. She knows that Edward has other people in his life, people he wants to be with and people he loves, but for a second, it felt like the song had something to do with her.
Don't be a moron. He just told you that he wrote it with Dalida. It's her whole idea.
How do you know that? That sounds like a lie someone would make to not embarrass themselves.
He could have sang any other song if he was uncomfortable with you hearing this.
Bella decides to change the topic and tells him, "I met Julia White."
"Yeah?" Edward asks her, not sure what brought that on.
"I think she has a crush on you," Bella continues.
Edward bursts out in laughter as he tells her, "Don't be ridiculous. It's not true."
She smiles at him as she shakes her head and tells him, "I am not being ridiculous. When I mentioned you, she started looking around excitedly."
Edward shakes his head chuckling as he asks her, "Are you sure?"
Bella raises an eyebrow at him and then states, "I see someone has perked up. I am sure enough that if you propositioned her for sex or any other thing, she would say yes."
Edward inflates a little bit and then tells her, "I find that hard to believe."
"Why would I exaggerate or lie about such a thing?" she asks him, annoyed that he is doubting her.
Seeming to sense her annoyance, Edward decides to put the topic to rest. "I believe you, but it doesn't matter. I'm not interested in her in that way." It feels important for Edward to tell her that and for some reason, and his statement feels significant to Bella.
It takes Bella a lot of restrain to not smile widely.
What are you so happy about? Just cause he doesn't like Julia doesn't mean that he likes you. Did you not just hear the song he was singing? He is most definitely hung up on someone who isn't you. Why else would he say yes to such an arrangement with you?
Well, he doesn't like Julia and I hate her, so a win is a win.
Bella smiles at him and tells him, "Good, cause I may have burnt that bridge for you."
"What?" Edward asks in surprise, not sure if he should be angry or laugh. What did she do?
Bella shrugs telling him, "I burnt that bridge for myself, and I think yours may have been burnt by association."
"What did you say?" Edward wonders, intrigued to know what happened.
Bella takes a deep breath and then launches into what happened. "I may or may not have let her know that I know that she used to have a nose candy problem and I may or may not have asked her if her son went to the same rehab center she went to. I wanted to ask if her son favored the same kind of drug she used to favor, but I felt like that would be in bad taste."
Bella scrunches her nose and shrugs adorable at the end like a kid would when letting you know that they tried their best but they couldn't change a thing.
Edward laughs loudly and then abruptly stops and tells her in a serious tone, "You made the right call on that one. It would most definitely have been in bad taste."
He can only manage the serious expression on his face for 30 seconds before he loses it and he starts laughing as he asks her, "What did she do to piss you off?"
"She insinuated that Phil and I aren't family because he and my mum didn't officially get married. As if a marriage license would have made things more serious between them," she replies quietly.
Edward waits for the rest of the story and when she doesn't tell him anything more, he asks her, "That's it?"
Bella rolls her eyes at him and tells him, "That's the icing on the cake."
"Okay, what is the cake?" Edward asks her, intrigued. He doesn't know Julia well, but he has always been under the impression that she was nice, so he wants to know what else she did because he can't imagine Bella lashing out at her over such a nonissue.
"She also was like, like mother like daughter, when she found out we are together," Bella pauses to make quotation marks with her fingers and then continues, "As if models are a downgrade for business men. Which I don't care for since I imagine she thinks that music is a hobby for you and not a real career path." He nods his head along to her words. Julia has definitely made him feel like music is this cutesy thing he does on the side for fun, not a legitimate career path.
"Her main offense though," she confesses to him and then pauses to build up anticipation, "Is calling mum a fashion prostitute."
Edward does a double take at her statement, "Wait, what?" Bella nods her head. "Why? What? How does someone even come up with such a thing to begin with?" he asks her.
She shrugs her shoulders. She too was surprised by Julia's creativity when her mum told her of what she found out as she has always seemed like a very basic person.
"And she told you that to your face?"
Bella rolls her eyes as she sits up straight and chides, "Of course not. Mum found out about that years ago, but since she told me about it, I knew that I needed to do something to get back at Miss Julia. Now she lives in constant fear of me telling others about her past which is a legitimate concern on her end since I have already told you and Phil."
Edward laughs lightly and then tells her, "You're evil."
"Only to the ones who deserve it," she replies, smirking.
They are quiet for a moment, each one busy with their own thoughts. The silence is only interrupted by Edward pressing random keys.
"What else would you consider evil?" Edward asks.
She frowns at that as she tells him, "I'm not sure what you mean."
He hums quietly pretending to him for a moment then he tells her, "So, would you consider leading someone on, evil?"
Bella smirks and shakes her head telling him, "No darling. That's child play."
"So you would do it?" he probes despite his mind telling him not to. He needs to know. He has to know.
"Do what?" Bella asks in confusion, not sure where he is going with this. What is he even talking about?
"Lead someone on as revenge?" he asks.
Bella thinks it over for a second and then shakes her head and tells him, "No. No. I am direct. What you see is what you get. Plus, if I am getting revenge on someone, I like to gloat and rub it in their face. I am not humble, so no, I would never get my revenge in a sneaky way."
Edward nods his head and finds himself thinking things over, feeling more confused than before.
"What brought on this line of thinking?" He looks up and finds Bella staring at him as if trying to solve a puzzle.
"It was just a random thought I had," he replies dismissively.
Bella shakes her head not believing him. "No, that was too specific of a topic to have it just randomly pop in your head."
Edward pauses for a moment weighing his options. Should he go with honesty? Or deny till he dies? He decides to go with brutal honesty. There is no path he would rather walk than the one in the light of the truth.
"I just.. I have been thinking. Sometimes, you flirt with me, but I know that you don't mean anything by it. Do you do that with other people?" he finally asks the one thing he has wanted to ask her since she entered his bedroom.
She automatically denies flirting with him.
"Come on, Bella. The winking and telling in your text that you want me to think of you first thing in the morning?"
"I am not flirting with you," she replies defensively. "Sure, I am playful with you, but not flirty. I don't even know how to flirt. This is just how I am with people I am close to."
"So you don't act like that with everyone?" he asks just to make sure.
"Of course not, and even if I did, you would know. I would have disclosed it to you when we started our arrangement. I don't like being put in the position of an idiot and I would never do that to anyone for no reason," she reassures him.
He sighs in relief but before he can say anything, the doorbell rings and both of them get up to see who it is.
Hello lovely people,
So, I was trying to find a song to insert for Edward to sing but i couldn't find one that fit the exact vibe I was going for and I also try to not include thing in my stories that I don't own the copyright for which is pretty ironic since this is a fanfic.
Anyways, I figured out that since I frequently write poetry, it wouldn't hurt for me to try writing the song.
It sounds corny and clumsy. I know. That was an artistic choice on my part.
Edward as a person is eternally happy as a character and isn't that complicated. Also Bella is the first woman he has felt that he has a chance with, plus, she is different from every other woman he has dated before, so most of the times he either doesn't know what to do and is fumbling around, or is second guessing everything and walking on eggshells around her.
Edward's song feeling graceful and suave would have made no sense
Please leave a comment in the review section. It could be your favorite part, thoughts, feeling, or even criticism. Any and every comment you leave is read and taken into consideration. Your comments motivate me to update faster, and help me grow as a writer.
Until my next update,
Stay Safe