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Chapter 36

Edward

Charlie stood rooted to the spot and completely speechless, which was more than could be said for his thoughts.

These were running at full speed at the moment.

He constantly asked himself whether he should be happy or not. The question of whether the baby would be human also kept coming up.

I tried to block out his thoughts. I wanted to give him some kind of privacy.

Somehow I was also doing this for his safety. I didn't want to read his thoughts about the baby, and that it might not be human. My own concern was quite enough.

Meanwhile, Charlie stood in front of Bella shaking his head.

What was he up to?

My protective instinct was alarmed.

Automatically, without really wanting to, I pulled Bella tightly against me. Unintentionally, a growl escaped me, which made Bella and Charlie startle.

"Edward, what's wrong?" my angel asked me.

"Did you just growl?", I heard Charlie ask.

"I ... I ..."

I didn't know what to say.

"You wanted to protect my daughter from me. Am I right?" Charlie directed the question to me.

What was I supposed to answer him?

What are you? How can I find out your secret?

"Dad, what are you talking about. I didn't hear anything," Bella tried to change the subject.

For which I was very grateful to her, only her attempt had little meaning.

I'm sure Bella knows. Do you think she would tell me? Should I ask her? Oh my god, my little Bells is having a baby. That's all that matters now. Who or what Edward is, is beside the point for now. They love each other and they are having a baby. Hopefully it's human and not a monster.

"Don't fool me. There's something wrong with Edward, and I'm going to find out what it is," Charlie muttered, as if he didn't want to say those words out loud.

"So, now I'm going to make us some coffee. Are you allowed to drink any at all? Would you rather have tea?" he directed the question to Bella.

"I really want a coffee."

Without another word, Charlie walked toward the kitchen. Before he disappeared behind the door, however, he fixed me with narrowed eyebrows.

At his thoughts, I didn't know whether to be happy or not.

I'll find out your secret yet. You can count on it.

Again, I couldn't help wondering if it would be a good thing if Charlie knew what we were.

I decided to contact Carlisle. I urgently needed to tell him about Charlie's suspicions.

"Bella, excuse me for a minute. I should let Carlisle know about Charlie's thoughts."

"Okay. I'll take care of my dad in the meantime."

After a quick kiss, Bella disappeared into the kitchen, and I out the front door.

"Hello, Edward."

"Carlisle, we have a problem."

"What's it about?"

"Billy told Charlie about vampires and werewolves. Now he's desperate to know what I am. Judging by his thoughts, he won't rest until he knows the truth."

"Why on earth did Billy do that?" asked Carlisle thoughtfully.

"That's what I'm wondering. What are we going to do now?"

"What does Bella say?"

"We haven't had a chance to talk about it yet. We're still with Charlie."

"I would suggest you join us later and we'll discuss everything. Victor would also like to examine Bella."

"Okay, see you then."

While I put my phone in my pocket, I focused on the sounds coming from the kitchen.

I didn't like what I heard then at all.

"Yes, Edward is a vampire. I love him more than my life."

Bella

Edward wasn't out of the house for a second when my dad started asking me all kinds of questions.

Some would have been perfectly normal if Edward were human.

He wanted to know Edward's favorite food, his favorite drink, and more.

At some point, I ran out of lies and my nerves are completely raw. My dad was really getting me down. My head started to hum, my stomach growled, and I was tired.

I couldn't and didn't want to anymore, and then it happened.

I told him the truth about Edward.

Charlie's reaction surprised me. He stood calmly in front of me, smiling lovingly at me.

"And you're having a baby."

My dad came up to me. When he stood in front of me, he put his hand on my stomach.

"What month are you? You already have a little belly?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question for you. Victor, my doctor, absolutely cannot tell me when our baby will want to come out of there," pointing to my belly. "All we know is that it grows faster than normal babies."

"It is healthy?"

Dad's expression was somewhat panicked.

"Other than it always hiding, everything is fine."

As if on cue, I felt a small kick against my abdominal wall. Since Charlie's hand was still on it, he felt it too.

"Oh my God, did it just kick me?" my dad asked me.

"Looks like it. As you can sense, our baby is special, and this was just his second kick."

I was so happy that I began to cry. My tears could no longer be contained.

Nothing could surpass this moment. I had just felt my Mousie for the second time. It was the perfect moment to make its presence felt.

Charlie was still standing in front of me and stroking my belly. He also looked overjoyed, and then suddenly my happy feeling changed.

From one second to the next I felt only anger, and it was Edward's fault.

He was not here with me right now. He had missed this moment completely.

Just as I was about to storm out of the kitchen, Edward stood in front of me. I angrily pounded with my fists against his shoulders.

My hands ached, but still I kept going.

It wasn't until my dad pulled me away from Edward that I slowly calmed down.

"Honey, calm down," my dad talked to me.

"It kicked me, and he wasn't there," I yelled angrily at them both.

After that, I ran out of the house like a little kid.

Oh, how I hated those mood swings.

A moment ago I was overjoyed, and now, thanks to the invention of the duplicate key, I was driving Edward's car alone to the Cullens.

By my standards, I was driving much too fast. The gas pedal was pressed all the way down.

It was fortunate that it could not be kicked through.

My inner voice told me to loosen my foot a bit, but my anger caused me to step on it even harder.

I tried to focus on what was happening at my dad's house.

Why had Billy put that bug in his ear? He should have known that my dad would get to the bottom of these rumors, and what dangers it would bring.

At that moment, I could have slapped myself.

Why had I told my dad what Edward was? Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? Edward wanted to consult Carlisle after all. If only I had waited! He would hate me for sure!

My foot was still firmly on the gas pedal when a pain in my belly hit me. It felt as if someone had rammed me with a knife. Instinctively, I slammed on the brakes. I ran out of air and panic set in.

"Shit," I cried out in pain.

I held my belly and doubled over a little as I did so.

My breath was faltering, which made me dizzy.

Everything around me was spinning.

I felt fear ... and very great fear.

What was wrong with me?

Before I lost consciousness, I prayed for my Mousie.

Hope it is well?

'Mommy, we are fine.'

There it was again, the voice of my baby.

"Where am I? What happened?" I asked in panic.

Everything around me was black once again.

'It was me, with the pain. I had to save us.'

"Excuse me? You did this? How is that possible?"

'I don't know.'

"Am I dead?"

'No, your body only allows itself a short relaxation. You'll wake up again in a few minutes.'

"Okay," was the only thing I got out.

I was far too confused to deal with those words.

Somehow I was glad to be in this state, and somehow it scared me.

Who knows what would have happened? At least my foot didn't want to get off that gas pedal. How ...

I shook my head, trying not to think about it any further.

I suddenly felt incredible longing.

I just wanted to go home to Edward.

As if on command, my eyes opened. Fortunately, the pain had completely disappeared.

Edward's car was parked on the side of the road with the engine running.

Overjoyed that nothing had happened, I drove off.

As I turned into the driveway from the Cullens, I saw everyone waiting for me on the patio.

Even Edward was already present.

Some of them did not look pleased. Obviously, they were already informed about everything.

I parked Edward's car in front of the garage and got out. From the side I saw Emmett rushing toward me.

Since I didn't know why or how, I started to get scared. Before he could touch me in any way, he bounced off me.

"Why is it always me," I heard Emmett curse as he fell on his butt.

There was this gray veil around me.

At the same time, as if in a trance, we stretched out our hands. It felt as if there was a wall between us.

This shield was incredible. I was totally fascinated. I felt completely safe. Nothing could happen to me here.

Behind me I heard Victor, Carlisle and Edward talking.

Abruptly I turned to them.

I had not even noticed that they had approached me.

What were they doing here?

As I looked at them more closely, I realized that each had a hand on this sign, just as Emmett and I had just a moment ago.

"Fascinating," Victor kept muttering.

"Can you feel who the gift is from?" asked Carlisle to him.

Victor had closed his eyes, shaking his head.

A glance around showed me that all eyes were on me.

This made me nervous and angry.

My breath quickened like a little steam engine.

My fingers clenched into fists; my fingernails pressed into the flesh.

"Why are you all staring at me? I'm not a fucking attraction to be gawked at," I yelled as loud as I could.

"Bella ...", I heard Edward's soft voice.

"What?", I snapped at him.

No sooner had these four letters left my lips than I immediately regretted them.

Edward looked at me with an exasperated expression on his face.

No one dared to say anything.

Everyone, except Victor and Edward, disappeared into the house without a word, for which I was very grateful.

I lowered my gaze to the ground, shaking my head.

I hated myself so much right now.

Just as my tears were working their way down my cheeks, I felt two arms wrap tightly around me from behind.

"I love you," Edward breathed into my ear.

"Oh Edward. I ...", I sobbed.

My voice failed; I couldn't get a syllable out.

"Shhh ... All is well, my angel. I'm going to carry you up now. Victor would like to examine you, if you don't mind."

I was still crying, and so I could only nod in confirmation.

Carefully Edward picked me up. Together with Victor we went to Edward's old room.

In a few seconds we would possibly see our Mousie.

A perfect end to a very busy day.