Thank you to my beta/pre-reader chatnoirmd for making this chapter better!
Happy reading!
4
Edward
It takes a moment for me to come back to my body after Bella and her friend walk away. The last thing I expected was to run into her my first night in town. I knew it was inevitable, Copper Creek was small, so it was bound to happen. But the first night?
Once the shock has worn off enough for me to move, I make my way to the booth where Emmett and Rosalie are sitting. As I near, Rose exits the booth to greet me, pulling me into a hug that's almost too tight.
When she pulls back, she looks me in the eye, a sternness in her violet eyes. "You were gone too long. How dare you make me miss you." She almost sounds disgusted, and I can't help but smile.
Rosalie and Emmett were my only friends from my school days that were still in town. Like the rest of our graduating class, they'd fled to a larger city. They'd both gone to UNC Wilmington, where Rose had been pre-law. They'd ended up in Fayetteville, where Rose was working for a rather large law firm. They'd no intention of coming back to Copper Creek. They enjoyed being in Fayetteville, where they started their family. All of that changed three years ago when Rose's dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She'd been devastated and they moved back to help her mom out, who'd insisted on keeping him at home for as long as possible.
Instead of working for another law firm like she had in Fayetteville, she started her own family law practice right here in town. She'd done well for herself, becoming one of the best family law attorneys in the state. Last I heard, her firm had more demand than they had attorneys.
"You can't just that you missed me, can you?" I tease, making her roll her eyes. I swear she and Emmett have barely changed in the years since I'd last seen them. She was still the bombshell that Emmett fell for in high school. Her blond hair was shorter now, though, now falling just past her shoulders. Her violet eyes, which mirrored her daughters, were still filled with the same fire they'd always been.
"Just sit down.'" She commands, going back to her seat next to her husband.
"What was that back there?" Emmett asks once I'm settled, his hand wrapped around his glass of beer.
I look back to where I'd run into Bella, trying to figure out how to explain what it was that they'd witnessed. There was so much history there, that I had no clue how to summarize. So, I go with the basics for now.
"That was Bella Swan, my sister's best friend. We kind of surprised each other." That was an understatement.
"Aw, Baby Bell. I always liked her." Emmett gushes. "What's she up to now?"
"She's the Office Manager at Safe Haven." Rose replies before I can. "My firm does a lot of pro bono work with their clients. Helping with custody and divorce cases."
"I didn't know you worked with them." I replied, my respect and admiration growing for her.
"Yeah," she nods. "We have a Memorandum of Understanding with them, and we help whenever one of their clients' needs an attorney or a legal consultation. So many of them have no idea how the legal system works, and it can be a daunting thing when you're trying to rebuild your life. It does my heart good to know we're helping those who really need it."
"My wife's kind of amazing, isn't she?" Emmett is looking at Rose with a soft expression, his hand on top of hers, and I have to agree.
We close down the restaurant that night as we spend the evening catching up. They tell me all about their oldest, Peter, whose thirteen, being inducted into the BETA Club, and how proud they were. Their middle child, Irina, eight, was a soccer star. Emmett was already having dreams of her becoming a professional player. Then there was Taylor, who was three, enjoying her life with her dad while they finger painted the day away. I never would've thought that my friend, the football star, would be spending his days having tea parties and enjoying it. It was clear how much he loved being a father.
I enjoyed hearing about their family. They'd accomplished so much as a couple, and I couldn't help but think about how I was here, alone, divorced with no children. The only thing I had to show for my life's accomplishments was my company, but that didn't keep me warm at night. I thought that by now, I would be like them, settled down with kids, enjoying Saturdays making pancakes with my spouse. I'd royally fucked up my chances for something like that, and I had to live with the consequences.
-SH-
The next morning, I wake up at my usual time of five-thirty, even though I didn't get back to the Airbnb until well after midnight. My body apparently didn't get the memo that I was supposed to be taking time off, because after an hour of flopping around like a fish, I finally give up on trying to get more sleep.
There was a mist hanging in the air when I stepped out onto the porch, the sun just barely over the tops of the trees. When I was a kid, I used to love sneaking downstairs to watch the sunrise, curling up on the swing on the back porch of my parent's house. It was one of my favorite times of day, but in recent years, it had been one that I wasn't able to enjoy the way I used to. In New York, I would already be on my way to the office, fighting traffic to make it on time. I'd forgotten how much I missed this, the stillness of the dawn, when most of the world around you was still asleep.
There were a lot of things that I used to enjoy that I missed these days. I missed spending time with my family and being close to them, not just physically, but emotionally. Since I'd moved to New York, I'd become closed off to them, it hadn't been something I'd done consciously, but after spending time with them yesterday, I realized how much I'd closed myself off to them. Sitting at my parent's kitchen table, eating pie, I saw how much I'd missed. Their lives were so different from the last time I'd been home, they were slowing down, enjoying their time together in retirement. Well, mom hadn't retired, but she was being more selective with the projects she took so she'd have more time to spend with my dad. It hurt to know how much I'd closed myself off to them, they didn't even know this version of me. The one that was addicted to work, who didn't have a social life and made regrettable choices that they realized all too late.
I'd become the type of person I never wanted to be. I missed the person I was before I left Copper Creek, but I didn't know how to get him back.
It doesn't take long for me to get cabin fever, so around lunchtime, I venture out, needing something to do. As I'm making the drive to town, my phone rings, the Bluetooth on the car informing me it's my mother.
"Hi." I greet, taking the turn that will put near downtown.
"Good morning, son of mine." I can't help but smile. I really missed her.
"Good morning, what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I called to invite you to dinner tomorrow night. I'm making beef stew, your favorite." She always did know the way to get me to do her biding, not that I would turn down a home cooked meal, especially by her, after mainly sustaining on carryout for months on end.
"I guess since you're making beef stew, I could make an appearance."
"Excellent! Dad and I will see you tomorrow at seven."
"See you then."
We hang up as I come to Copper Creek Roasters, parking in front of the store. I'd been dragging all morning and was in desperate need of caffeine. When I walk in, there's only one other customer standing at the counter. I immediately recognize her at Bella's friend from the night before.
She finishes her order, turning to step off to the side, but she stops in her tracks when she sees me. Her demeanor changes when she realizes who I am. Gone is the smile that she'd given Jane, replaced with a frown as she takes me in.
"Hello, again." I nervously say. I'm convinced the universe hates me and is punishing me for all my sins. That's the only explanation for last night and, now, today.
"Hi." Her response is clipped as she crosses her arms. Clearly, she would love for me to be anywhere but here right now.
"I ran into you last night at…." She cuts off my nonsensical rambling.
"I know who you are."
"Oh."
"Yes," she lifts her brow at me, "oh."
"So, she…" I trail off, because of course Bella told her best friend about what happened.
"Yes, she told me everything. In detail."
"Is she okay?" I ask, not able to help myself. "She seemed upset last night."
"I'm not answering that question." She replies as Jane puts her two coffees on the counter.
She starts to walk away and because I don't know when to let things go, follow after her.
"I know you're trying to be a good a friend…" I don't finish what I was going to say, because she wheels around, a fire in her eyes that makes her even more intimidating than she was before.
"I don't try to be a good friend; I am a good friend. You, sir, hurt my bestie. Therefore, you are my enemy." She tells me with her head held high. She is a good friend, one that is obviously protective. "You don't get to go through me to help try to alleviate your conscience. Whether Bella wants to talk to you or forgive you, or whatever the fuck she decides, that's her choice. You're not going to drag me into the middle, because I'm firmly in my girl's corner." She turns on her heel, marching out the door, earning my respect in the process.
-SH-
The following evening, I arrive for dinner at my parent's house a little later than I'd planned, parking behind my mom's Mini Cooper. There's an unfamiliar silver sedan in their driveway that I take notice of as I make my way to the front door. Voices carry from the kitchen, my mom's laugh echoing down the hall. I follow the sounds seeing my mom is at the stove, stirring the stew that she'd told me she was making for dinner. I know she'd made it on purpose to get me to come tonight, not that I minded. What has me stopping in my tracks is the sight of Bella standing at the counter, slicing bread that will be turned into garlic bread. Bella's motions halt, the smile sliding off her face when she meets my eyes.
"Hey, you." My mom steps away from the stove to come give me a hug. "When did you get here?"
I hug her back, my eyes going back to Bella who's back to slicing the bread a little more roughly than she was before. "Just now. What can I say? I'm a ninja."
Mom laughs, looking up at me with a smile. "You funny, funny boy." She pats my cheek. "I'm going to go pry your father away from the baseball game he's been busy watching all evening. You can help Bella finish up the garlic bread." By saying I can help, she's telling me to help.
Mom walks out of the kitchen, leaving Bella and I alone, an uncomfortable silence between us.
"You don't have to help, I'm almost done." She says, finally breaking the silence, placing the last few pieces of bread on the pan and starting to spread butter on them.
"If I don't help, my mom will have my head." I reply, walking over the counter, grabbing a knife from the silverware drawer. "I didn't know you would be here. If I did I would've…" she cuts me off before I can continue.
"And what?" She asked, continuing her work. "Said no to dinner with your parents? Wouldn't that have looked weird?"
I start to assist, spreading butter on bread that's closest to me, and we lull back into silence for a moment.
"How did she bribe you into coming?" I ask because I can't stand the silence any longer. "She bribed me with stew."
I see the corner of her mouth tick up in a smile. "She promised me pie. But only after she guilted me into coming, saying it's been too long since they've seen me."
"She really went for the jugular." I shake my head at my mother's antics. I shouldn't be surprised. She was always one to make sure she got what she wanted.
Bella sighs. "You know your mother."
"That I do." I reply as we finish up, Bella sprinkling garlic powder on the slices before putting the pan in the over. "Bella, I just want to…."
"Don't." She cuts me off before I can continue.
"What?" I furrow my brow, watching as she grips the counter to the point her knuckles go white.
"The next words out of your mouth were going to be 'I'm sorry, right?" she looks at me, the pain in her eyes making my mouth go dry. "I can't do this with you, Edward. Maybe not ever, but especially not now. Because I have to sit down at the dinner table with your parents and pretend like I'm not dying inside."
"I know I fu…"
"Edward." There's a fire in her eyes as she looks at me, tears pooling in them. They only serve to make me feel more guilty. "You're only apologizing right now because that's what you think you're supposed to do. You're wanting me to say I forgive you because that's what will make you feel better. That won't make me feel better. And quite frankly, I don't forgive you."
The truth of her words is like a knife I deserve.
We're still staring at each other when my mom comes back into the kitchen.
"Everything okay?" She asks, looking between us, her brow furrowed.
Bella puts on a smile, her demeanor completely changing. "Everything's fine. The garlic bread should be finished any second. I'll take this to the table." She grabs the salad, making a quick exit.
My mom looks back at me, her brow lifted, hands on her hips. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
"We were just surprised to see each, that's all." I lie. "You didn't exactly warn us that the other would be here."
She's still looking at me like she's trying to get me to confess my sins. If she only knew that half of it, she'd be extremely disappointed in me. "You know I will figure out what's going on."
I know her words aren't a threat. She has a way of decoding situations that rival the CIA.
With her words hanging in the air, she takes the garlic bread out of the oven, taking it to the dining room, leaving me alone in the kitchen.
A/N: Edward is still an idiot/asshole. What I should've said last chapter was that I fixed the irredeemable problem. I know some will say that he's still not redeemable, and understand. I just ask that you trust the process. He has a lot of growing to do.