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Chapter 5

Bear Hugs

Emmett

I was standing in the shade of the forest, right next to the garden at Bella's house.

I could hear her voice from inside. She was still downstairs in the kitchen. I wanted to wait until she was in her room.

Of course, I knew exactly which window would lead me to her, because I had been there once before. Back then, on her first day at our school, that bastard Edward had almost killed her. But he had held back and ran away to Canada for a week. When I had seen her for the first time, I was blown away. She was so incredibly clumsy and had these chocolate brown eyes like a delicate deer.

When I happened to see her leaving the secretary's office after school, I quickly ran after her. Of course, she didn't notice me. When I saw what kind of old junk car she was driving, I almost had to laugh out loud. But I guessed that old Chevy was still the kind of car that wouldn't get scratched in an accident. As clumsy as this Bella seemed, a car like that was probably the best thing for her.

As she was on her way home, I could see that she was fighting tears. I waited then - as I did tonight - at the bottom of the garden until it got dark and until I heard that she was in bed and her breathing was so slow that I knew she had fallen asleep. Only then did I jump up to the window. However, I climbed up to Charlie's window first, but suspected that Bella would not snore as loudly. On my second try, I caught the right window. When I went to open it, it squeaked as if it hadn't been oiled in years.

Umm ... I wonder if it was still that loud, the window?

After I made it into the room without waking her up, I leaned against the wall across from her and watched her.

While I always scoffed at Edward's hobby of watching Bella sleep, I just didn't want him to get into my real thoughts. The thoughts of how beautiful and comforting it was to see her like this. The thought of being jealous of that idiot!

She didn't talk that night. She just tossed and turned and sometimes kicked around so much that the blanket slid down to her feet. I didn't want her to be cold, so I took the blanket and very gently covered her back up.

Since this ass of a cheating vampire didn't come home until a week later, he never knew that I had already spent the night with Bella before him.

I grinned at the thought of it.

Bella's voice pulled me back to the present.

"Good night, Dad."

"I'd better get to bed, too. Lots to do at the station. Sleep tight, Bells."

I heard her footsteps going up the stairs and heard it as she slipped into her bed and the springs squeaked slightly.

With a single smooth leap, I was up at her window.

Was she crying? It broke my heart to see the girl I actually loved hurt like that. I wanted so much to comfort her. I had only come here to see how she was doing. But I wanted to hug her and never let go.

Without hesitation, I slipped silently through the window into Bella's room.

Umm ... from the looks of it, the window has been oiled once since then.

My gaze wandered over Bella.

Her hands were clenched, and I heard her crying softly. I wanted to comfort her.

Very gently and slowly I put my hand on her arm, which in the moonlight seemed almost as pale as my skin.

She jerked, turned around and looked at me in shock.

"Emmett?" she whispered after a few seconds.

She quickly wiped her tears from her face.

She still looked at me confused and somehow sad.

"Emmett, what are you doing here?", she asked.

"You know Bells ... bear hugs are the best hugs."

Without hesitation I took her in my cold strong arms.

If she was cold because of me? In any case, she did not push me away.

"I'm so sorry for you. You were together for so long, you and R ..."

I didn't want to hear her name.

"Bella, go to sleep," I whispered in her ear.

I put her back in bed and lay close behind her. With my left arm I wrapped around her belly and pulled her back to my belly.

Bella took my left hand in her hands.

I felt that she had something like a splint on her hand. She had probably sprained something when she slapped the idiot's hand away. She snuggled closer to my torso like a little kitten. Her warm body felt so nice, so soft and tender. How my cold body felt to her?

With her fingertips, she gently stroked the inside of my hand, which she had pulled towards her.

"Thanks, Em," she whispered, taking my hand and pressing a shy kiss into the palm.

God, she was so cute! I could feel her cheeks blushing as she did it. It was so typical Bella. I loved it when she blushed like a little schoolgirl.

"Sleep ...", I whispered into her ear from behind and gave her a kiss on the back.

She squeezed my hand even tighter on it and shivered ever so slightly, but certainly not because she was cold.

I grinned silently.

After three minutes, the pressure of her hands eased, and her breathing and pulse dropped to normal sleep levels.

I couldn't believe that I was really in the same bed with Bella! Damn, I loved her more than I thought. When I still felt obligated to the two traitors, I had repressed the feelings as best I could. But now they were coming at me like a thunderstorm. I loved them. I loved her. She was just so incredibly sweet right now.

I watched as her chest quietly moved up and down. I breathed in the scent of her hair.

It was delicious - strawberry, apple, peony ... she smelled so good.

In the dream she moved slightly, and her hair cleared her whole neck.

With my right hand, I stroked a finger up and down her neck, just gently, so she wouldn't wake up.

I heard her blood flowing through her veins. I saw the pulse on her white neck. Her blood smelled better than any grizzly bear.

I opened my mouth until my fangs were visible and approached her neck. With my tongue I drove from the bottom to the top, exactly where the blood flow was so close to the thin skin.

Just taste ...