There wasn't much of a wait time. In fact, it was only seconds before another woman came walking in. She wore a long white lab coat, with a crip navy blue pair of scrubs. She offered the both of us a warm smile.
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Swan," She moved to hold her hand out, revealing a hand completely full of rings and a bold tattoo circling around her fingers and wrist. She had an eternal marking. It was a rare sight. All the time I've spent around other reapers, there weren't many that were marked. "My name is Laurel."
Shyly, I took her outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you too."
The woman turned with a smirk in Edward's direction. "It's been a while, hasn't it Edward. How is your mother doing?" She began casually taking my vitals and jotting down notes.
Edward snorted. "The same as always. She did mention for me to tell you, give her a call."
"Poor wretch should know better than that." The nurse rolled her eyes.
I was slightly taken off guard by her cold statement and tone regarding Esme. I had the feeling there may be some bad blood between them. But I didn't want to be nosey. To be honest, I couldn't care less. I was becoming a little unhinged. I saw the equipment for a pelvic exam. That's all I could really focus on. My least favorite part would soon be approaching.
"A lot has changed; she may be a bit better company than usual now." Edward said, moving a bit closer to my side to take my hand. He sensed my growing anxiety. He eyed me with a gentle smile. His hand was a much-needed distraction.
"Yes, I've heard about her demotion, I wish I could have been there to see her face. I warned her about using curses. But she never listened." Now, she paused to lightly pat my shoulder. "Alright dear, please remove everything from the waist down."
I nodded stiffly, waiting for her and Edward to both look away, giving me just a moment of privacy. Anxiety tumbled around in my stomach as I shimmied down my pants. My heart was racing to the point I felt breathless. Once I finished, I covered myself with a thin sheet the nurse had placed at the bottom of the exam table.
"I know you two never had much of a relationship. But I think she could really use… someone to talk to. She is struggling." Edward mentioned with a sigh. "I've never seen her so… depressed…"
The nurse clicked her tongue, a look of reluctance on her face. "I won't make you any promises. But I suppose I can give her a call. After all, how could I say no to my favorite nephew."
Well, that clears it up. This woman must be Esme's sister. I took a closer look at her. She did look similar. They had the same facial features. Although Laurel had a much darker complexion. She had a bit more weight on her as well, giving her body more busty curves. I suspected they may be half siblings, with sharing only one parent.
Edward smiled faintly, nodding with approval. "Well, I appreciate that."
"Anyway, let's focus on your lovely lady here." She turned to me now, carefully directed me to move down as low as possible on the table. My legs were moved to metal stirrups, forcing my legs widely open. I instantly felt uncomfortable, especially as she moved to sit down in the area between my legs. She moved a small side table over, full of intimidating equipment.
I swallowed hard and tightly squeezed Edward's hand. I couldn't bring myself to look. Instead, I stared up at the brightly lit ceiling. Hoping to just get this over with. Edward leaned over and kissed the top of my head.
"Try to relax love," He whispered gently.
"I know this is terribly unpleasant dear. I do apologize." Laurel spoke up as well. Slowly, I felt her movements and instantly my body responded negatively. I clenched tightly against the pressure and pain. It was an automatic reaction. I forced myself to shake off the tension and allow her instruments deeper. I've always been overly sensitive to pelvic exams; most people didn't find them overly painful. But that wasn't the case for me.
Until the nurse had finished, no one spoke. It felt like an eternity. The pressure, pain and scrapping feelings inside my most intimate areas. I felt my body trembling by the end of it. Edward watched me with concern as he held tightly to my hand.
"Well, that part is over. It's smooth sailing now." Laurel said as she moved to the sink in the room to begin washing her hands. She had collected everything she needed. Her words helped me relax a little more.
Edward assisted me with cleaning myself up and getting my pants back on. The nurse briefly left the room. Thankfully, the appointment will be ending soon. The last step would be the ultrasound. This is what I was looking forward to the most. The chance of getting a glimpse of my baby. I couldn't put it into words how excited I was.
"So, Laurel is your aunt?" I asked as I attempted to get comfortable on the exam table once again.
Edward nodded with a crooked smile. "Yes, Laurel and Esme share the same mother. They grew up together."
"They don't get along?" I questioned.
"They have never gotten along. As long as I've walked the Earth, they have been bitter rivals."
"Why is that exactly?"
"Esme never really told me why, but I'm assuming they just have a particularly strong desire to competition with each other. They want to be the most successful in their mother's eyes. Even though grandma had passed on to the afterlife long ago." Edward explained with a touch of sadness on his face.
"O-oh, I didn't realize that reapers could… pass on…"
"Well, it's not the same way that a human would pass on. It is a decision. Basically, once they reach a certain age, 'the grim' gives the option for a reaper to be reborn. The life cycle is basically reset, and they are reborn as infants. Clear of all memories of their pasts. And with a completely new genetic makeup."
"Wow, that is interesting… how old does a reaper have to be… for 'the grim' to offer that?"
"I believe you have to reach five hundred years before you are eligible."
There was still so much about Edward's world that I didn't know. It was something I had to start coming to terms with. Someday, I will become a reaper. Even though I wasn't sure when that would happen, it was inevitable. My fate was sealed the moment Edward marked me. I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to this transition. I was terrified.
After a short wait, Laurel returned and began the ultrasound process. Thankfully, I was far enough along that we could just do the scan of my stomach. Once the lights in the room were dimmed, I directed my attention to the monitor to the side of me. I couldn't take my eyes away. The probe shifted against my stomach, with startling roughness. It caused a bit discomfort, but that didn't even fully register. Not when I heard the fast beating of the baby's heart.
I felt tears sting in my eyes, I couldn't hold back my smile. Edward watched in silent awe. Both of us were speechless. And finally, I saw the image of the baby come to the screen. It was incredibly small. But undoubtably looked like a baby.
"The baby is measuring sixteen weeks, three days. Looks to be all in normal range." Laurel grinned, watching me, then Edward. "It is about the size of an apple."
"Will we be able to know the gender?" I asked quietly.
"It's possible, but I can't guarantee anything. You can get a more accurate ultrasound when you're a little further along. Usually once you hit twenty weeks, we can give you a more concrete answer."
I'm not sure I could wait any longer. "I'd really like to know."
She nodded and began adjusting the wand against my stomach once again, this time pressing in a little harder. All the pressure on my bladder felt miserable. The possibility of peeing myself was high. But I had to hold on. This was what I've been waiting for. To finally know the gender.
Edward watched the monitor closely, appearing just as excited as I was. His hands rested in mine as we waited with bated breath.
"Your baby is jumping around a lot. But I think I have a good idea of a gender. Again, this won't be confirmed officially until your next appointment. However, I think this is a baby boy."
I felt my heart flip in my chest. A boy? I was completely overjoyed. Words couldn't express my feelings. It wouldn't have mattered if the baby had been a boy or girl. I would have been happy either way. But with some form of knowledge of a gender, really made all of this seem so much more real. There really was a little person growing inside of me. It was thrilling and terrifying.
Edward pulled me in for a close hug, his lips touching the top of my head. The smile on his face left me breathless. I've never seen that kind of look on his face before.
"Our son," He spoke quietly as he appeared lost in thought. His eyes remained on the monitor.
"I'm assuming you would like a printout of this ultrasound?" Laurel spoke up with a pleased look.
"Yes please," I said eagerly.
The continuation of my appointment was a blur as Laurel explained some of the finer details of how this pregnancy would progress. I should have been paying closer attention, but I was completely engulfed in my own world as I held the small picture of my unborn baby boy. My thoughts raced with all the possibilities of what our world would look like, with this little boy. Would he end up looking like a mini-Edward? The thought filled me with excitement.
As we made our way back to the city of Boswel, Edward made a stop at a fast-food joint to get me something to eat for the way home. I was in my glory. Warm, cheese fries and a thick juicy burger. Full of grease, carbs and bliss. I've been sticking to a mostly healthy diet during this pregnancy, so this was considered a treat. Since the nausea had slowed down lately, my appetite has rekindled.
There was a peaceful silence between us as we drove through the bustling city. Edward had the radio on for a little background noise. He still appeared lost in his thoughts, so I kept myself quiet. Even though my mind was racing. I wanted to talk endlessly about the baby. I had even begun thinking of some baby names.
After a while, there was a quiet buzz that rattled Edward's cell phone; that had been sitting in the cupholder between us. He didn't seem to notice it. Or was ignoring it. I retrieved it and hesitantly answered the phone.
"Hello?" I spoke, using as formal a tone as I could muster.
The other end of the phone was silent for a moment. I just heard some deep breaths. There was also the sound of a train in the background. Then, a soft voice floated through the phone.
"You're the replacement, aren't you?" As beautiful as the voice sounded, I could hear the venom behind each word. Whoever she was, she was angry. That much was clear.
"I don't know what you mean, who is this?" I replied, remaining calm.
"How does it feel knowing you are just his sloppy second. His rebound." She spoke with a cold sneer. It now became clear to me that I must be speaking to one of Edward's exes. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand. A chill ran down my spine. But the flames of envy took hold of me. My emotional state wasn't quite the same as it was before I was pregnant. Everything felt heightened. Every emotion and feeling. I wouldn't hold back my displeasure.
I felt Edward's eyes on me now, taking note of my sudden shift in mood. Concern colored his expression as he listened intently. He held his hand out to me, as if suggesting that I pass it over to him. I would, but not after I said my peace.
"I don't know which one of you that I'm talking to. And I don't really care. If you think you had his heart first, you are wrong. If the relationship you had with him was of genuine love, he would have given you the eternal mark. But that didn't happen, did it?" I knew that I sounded petty. I was being cruel. Even as I said the words, I knew that I was starting to cross a line. But my emotions wouldn't allow me to waver. I wanted to hurt this person. I wanted to break their heart into pieces under the pressure of my feelings for Edward. I was tired of allowing those in his past to keep popping up and attempting to make me feel like it was wrong for us to be together. Especially now that I was carrying his child.
There was an animalistic growl piercing through the phone now. Clearly, I had struck a nerve with this woman. Good. Then I made my point.
"You arrogant bitch, I should hunt you down and kill you myself." Her threat didn't go unnoticed. Edward snatched the phone from my hand and held it up to his ear.
"Who is this?" He was seething now. Darkness entered his eyes, he stared straight ahead, not making eye contact with me. He began to accelerate the car, reaching speeds that had me getting a bit anxious. I knew he was an excellent driver, but if something happened… I didn't even want to imagine the possibility of losing this child inside me.
I listened closely, not wanting to be left out of the loop of this conversation, unfortunately, I couldn't hear a thing, only Edward's sharp responses.
"What do you want Tanya, are you ready to turn yourself into custody?" He said with a hollow tone. There were many emotions washing through Edward at the moment. I could feel all of it. The fury, bitterness and disgust.
I didn't hear her response, but by the look on Edward's face, there was trouble brewing. Concern painted his face and again, he slammed his foot down on the accelerator. We were now bobbing and weaving in and out of traffic, surpassing the speed limits by double digits at this point.
"Edward, what is it?" This was starting to get me anxious. I wanted to know what was happening. Why was Edward in a panic.
He didn't seem to notice my growing fear, there was no reply from him.
"If that's true, you can expect a swift retaliation." Edward hissed, before heatedly shattering his phone in his clenched hand. Darkness etched through his features and a twitch began in his hands. I knew what this meant. He was attempting to hold back his powers. Unfortunately, since he was half reaper, this meant controlling these abilities took a great deal of effort. Especially since they seemed to be activated by his rage.
"Edward what's going on?" I asked as calmly as I could.
He didn't answer, his breathing was labored, eyes black. I saw his hands beginning to revert to a skeletal form. This wasn't good. I've never seen him this close to losing control completely.
Finally, after a brief pause, he spoke between clenched teeth. "Distract me, please. Before I… lose it." The words were so full of malice, I felt myself begin to tremble. His voice held to much power over me. And at times like this, it scared me a little. What would happen if I couldn't calm him down?
Without thinking, I took one of his hands and gently placed it on my stomach. I swallowed hard as I tried to stop myself from fearing him. "Can you feel him, your son is here too. We both love you; we are both safe. Calm down for both of our sakes."
Edward's eyes softened immediately; I practically saw the tension falling off his shoulders. The car began to slow down to a normal speed. Peace returned to his face as his hand lightly stroked my belly. One corner of his mouth pulled upwards. This was probably the best we could manage now. I knew he was still upset, but at least it seems to have helped him regain some control.
When it appeared that he had recovered, I cautiously took his hand to hold it tightly. "What is going on? What has Tanya done?"
"I can't give details right now. Just know that I will keep you and Ana safe. No matter what."
Had Tanya threatened us? Was she planning something? I hated being left in the dark. "Please, tell me something? I don't think my nerves can take this. This stress of not knowing what's happening… it's too much." I winced.
"Tanya has made a deal with Aro, to break her curse. She will stop at nothing to accomplish the tasks that he gave her. And Ana is her target."
"But why Ana? She has nothing to do with this."
"I suspect they want Ana's death to leave a scar of misery on you. This would be something you would be disastrous if you transitioned into a reaper, while carrying this scar. It would mean all our destruction."
"A scar of misery? What is that?"
"It's something that tends to happen to newly transitioning reapers. Something from their human past has caused immense sadness and pain will create a scar. This scar will feed off of the host, until it's completely empty of all emotions over than sadness. It will influence the new reaper to devour souls." Edward explained, lightly squeezing my hand.
"Why would it cause a reaper to devour souls?"
"Because after the consumption of a soul, the host is given some relief from the sadness. They will begin having moments of happiness once again… that will continue… until they become a devourer."
"That sounds awful," I muttered quietly. "And Tanya wants this to happen to me?'
Edward gave me one nod, the tension coming back to his arms.
"What can we do? Is there any way we can settle this?"
"We need to take her into custody. The longer she is free, the more problems she is going to cause." He said with his eyes narrowing. "Or better yet just end her miserable life. She has caused enough pain.
For what she did to Ana, I would normally agree with Edward on this. But there was still something that just wasn't sitting right with me. From the very start, Tanya has been controlled and manipulated by others around her. Even her affair between Edward and Jasper was a manufactured event, by Esme. She hadn't wanted to do it. Deep down, I had the feeling that she truly was in love with Edward. And I was the one that came into the picture and took him away from her. Did she consider this as revenge? It sounds like she has been a victim in a lot of what happened. Was that the case now? Was someone forcing her to do this without her own knowledge? If that was the case, I couldn't wish for her death.
"Could what Jasper said… be true? Is it possible that someone is manipulating Tanya? Forcing her to do these terrible things?" I asked quietly as we finally made it back into the city of Boswel.
Edward clicked his tongue. "It's possible. But that doesn't change what must be done here. She needs to be stopped. I won't allow her to hurt you anymore."
"As much damage as she had done up until this point, I understand that's how you feel. She's caused you a lot of heartache. But she may be hurting too. Maybe this can be worked out… if we just talk to her. If we can convince her to stop following Aro's orders… that might be the best scenario for all of us." At the very least, we could give her one chance to do the right thing. I didn't know her at all. I haven't even met her.
"It's not going to happen. She decided her own fate when she accepted Aro's demands. She is the enemy."
"Yeah, but she only did that because she was terminated from her company and turned into a hideous, disfigured beast. There was no one else… maybe if she was welcomed back…
"Not going to happen," Edward repeated with some sternness. "What little trust I had for her is gone. She won't be welcomed back after everything she has done. Even if she was being controlled by someone else. I can't forgive."
"I'm not saying to forgive her… but if we took her, locked her away and dispelled the curse and manipulation from her, maybe this would end things. She wouldn't be able to attack Ana. And would be free from her suffering."
"She deserves to suffer." He grumbled with a look of displeasure. "Where is all of this coming from? I thought you despised Tanya as much as I did. Why do you want to save her now?"
I paused, thinking through my response carefully. "I do hate her. Because I believe she is still in love with you. And she hurt you. But things are different than what we thought. I'd like to hear her side of the story. Before I condemn her to her miserable fate."
Edward stubbornly shook his head. "You don't know Tanya like I do. There has always been a darkness inside of her. She was a selfish, cruel, despicable woman. And I think she deserves everything that has happened to her."
"If you really felt this way, why did you marry her?"
"I just… wanted to piss off Esme. I wasn't planning on staying with her long term. But I like how angry it made Esme." He commented with a sigh. "I'm just as much of a monster as Tanya. I realize that."
"No, don't say things like that." I said squeezing his hand that was still in mine. "You're not perfect, that's okay. People make mistakes."
"You deserve better." He said even softer.
"No, I don't, I'm not perfect either. I've done some things I'm not proud of."
Edward smirked slightly, eyeing me with a hint of humor. "What's the worst thing you've ever done? I can't imagine it's anything that terrible."
I thought about it for a moment. "Well, I locked Ana out of the house once. Purposely. We had been fighting about something, probably something stupid. So, I tossed her out and locked her outside all night. When my dad got up in the morning… and found out what happened, he was furious." I said with a pinch of sadness. The memory always caused me a lot of shame and regret. Not to mention, I had been grounded for months.
"You don't remember why you two were fighting?" Edward asked with a raised brow.
"It probably had to do with my weight. Back then, I was a bit overweight. Ana teased me a lot because of it. She would take my clothes that I outgrew and rub it in my face. Taunt me. Make me feel worthless. But I shouldn't have let it get to me. It was the middle of winter… she could have gotten sick… or worse. But she went to Uncle Charlie's place for the night. So, she was fine."
Edward nodded, eyeing me for a moment. "It's hard to believe you were ever overweight. Since we met, I've always thought you were a bit underweight."
"Well, I guess that's just what happens when you starve for a year straight. It was a lot harder than I thought to move into a big city. Everything was so expensive; I couldn't seem to catch a break. There was never enough money to get any substantial food."
"I wish that I had met you sooner." Edward said with a kind smile.
"You really think you would have wanted me… even being fat?"
Edward gave me a disappointed look. "Do you think I would be so shallow as to concern myself with your looks? Reapers fall in love with the soul of another first. Not the vessel of the soul. That's why the eternal mark is formed. Two souls, fall in love. The love for the flesh comes secondary."
This warmed my heart. Edward always had the right words. It was comforting to know that he would have loved me, no matter what I looked like. It really did take the pressure off of me. I had thought I would have to remain as lean as possible. Which would begin to get hard, now that money wasn't a problem anymore. My love of comfort foods has always been my downfall with weight. It was nice to know that if I tripped myself up and ended up gaining my weight back, Edward wouldn't mind.
"It's kind of backwards with humans." I admitted quietly. "We love with our eyes first. Everything else takes time to fall in love with."
He raised his brow, chuckling for a moment. "I guess I'm fortunate to have a nice outward appearance. Or perhaps you wouldn't have given me a chance at all."
"That's not necessarily true, not all humans are like that. In fact, I've never considered your good looks as a reason to love you. It was so much more than that. It was how you made me feel. The good things you've done for me. You are so much more than a handsome man in a business suit."
His smile widened as he brought my hand up to kiss it tenderly. "You truly are the most interesting person I've ever met Bella. No matter what happens next, I hope that you will consider being by my side forever." His voice was so smooth. It brought chills down my spine.
As we pulled into the parking lot to our home, suddenly I felt him shift to place a small box in the palm of my hand.
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as he opened the box. Revealing a sparkling ring. The crystal was solid black, with a pristine platinum band, etched in intricate patterns that mirrored my eternal mark.
Thank you for waiting for this next update! I know it took a lot of time to get here. But hopefully it was worth the wait for you all. I'll be attempting to make more consistent updates for this story. Again, thanks for reading! Leave a review with your thoughts if you enjoyed this one.