I felt my breath catch in my throat, rendering me unable to speak. I stared at the ring. Unable to look away, yet reluctant to acknowledge what this all meant. My mind was racing along with the rapid beat of my heart. This had taken me by complete surprise.
"Bella, I know you may find this a little fast… I know you prefer to take your time and never jump headfirst into anything without thinking it through. I accept that this doesn't mean we have to get married right this second. It could take place years from now if that's what you wish. But I don't want to spend one more second waiting to put this promise on your finger. A promise of loving you forever." Edward said softly.
His words sent my body ablaze with emotion. I felt it swelling up deep inside of me, making it extremely difficult to think rationally. Hesitantly I nodded, moving my hand out for him to gently slide the ring onto my finger. It fit perfectly. Instantly, I felt warmer, and my eternal markings began to spread, right before our eyes. It left me feeling more secure and deeply connected with Edward.
His vibrant smile washed away any lingering doubts as he leaned in to plant a sweet kiss to my lips. I leaned into him, enjoying the feeling of our lips together. The passion and heat between us translated to Edward wrapping me into his arms, never disrupting our contact as he carried me bridal style from the car into our home.
I barely paid any attention as we made it to the privacy of the apartment, not even as pieces of clothing were shed off the both of us. I couldn't get close enough. I needed to feel him inside of me. I was partially aware of the guard stationed in my sister's room. The one that was to look after her until we returned. But I couldn't focus on that potentially embarrassing situation if they left the room to catch the two of us in this position.
As our lips mashed against each other, Edward moved us to the couch now that we were both completely in the nude. He moved me to straddle him, remaining seated upright. I clutched tightly to him, allowing myself to ease down on his throbbing member. My toes curled against the immediate pleasure. With desperation, I began to bounce myself in his lap as I held onto his shoulders. His hands went to my hips, pressing me down and thrusting upwards with a strength that left me breathless in ecstasy.
Moaning in delight, I let my head fall back as Edward's lips trailed down my neck. He groaned in a deep throaty voice. It wasn't long before both of us reached the limit. Pleasure and bliss quivered throughout my body. I felt myself slump over into him completely. He held me close, not bothering to move an inch. I could still feel his member inside of me, twitching just slightly. His breathing was a bit uneven, but the look on his face suggested he was content. His hands lightly ran down the bare skin of my back.
"Are you two done, it's about fucking time. I'm not sure how much more of that I could take." A voice called out from the kitchen. At the same time, I heard the low beeping noise of the coffee pot going off. I hadn't even realized that someone else was here.
My heart fell into the pit of my stomach, but before I could react, I felt Edward shift to pull the blanket that was down over the back of the couch, to wrap it around us completely. Still, he didn't separate himself from me. Instead, he turned in the direction of the kitchen with a glare.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He called out with a hostile tone.
There wasn't an answer, instead I watched as Emmett came walking out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand. He glanced at us with a bored expression on his face. Not at all bothered by catching us in this scenario. He just casually walked by and took a seat down in the armchair across from us.
"Well, I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by to see how everyone was doing," Emmett shrugged his shoulders as he took a big gulp out of his mug. "I see nothing has changed much."
"Do you mind? In case you didn't realize, Bella is quite underdressed for company at the moment." Edward said with a dark look. I could tell he was trying to hold back his anger. This is the first time we have seen Emmett in months. I knew Edward didn't want to do anything to scare Emmett away. This might be our chance to finally get to the bottom of his disappearance.
"What does it matter? I've seen every inch of her body already. She slept with me too after all. Don't you remember dear brother?" Emmett sneered with pettiness.
Edward's body went tense under me for a moment, I could feel his chest vibrating as he growled. His shoulders trembled in fury. "What the fuck is your problem, Emmett. Do you want me to beat the shit out of you? Is that what you are trying to do? We haven't seen each other in months and the first thing you want to do is pick a fight with me. Do you even know how worried Esme has been?"
Emmett snorted, looking coldly away from us. "You mean that lying bitch? Who cares? Now she wants to act like the concerned parent. She never gave a shit about me. So don't even try telling me any different." He sounded just as angry as Edward.
I could feel the tension escalating in the room. If things got more heated, there would no doubt be a fight between them. But I didn't even know what to say. Was it even my business to try and say anything? This seemed like something the two of them needed to discuss without my input.
"I'm not interested in fighting with you Emmett, so if that's why you are here, you can leave." Edward snapped as he carefully shifted me from his lap to his side. He kept the blankets tightly around me, to keep me entirely covered. While he moved from the couch. Not bothering to cover himself.
Emmett grumbled under his breath, averting his eyes while Edward left the room, heading in the direction of our bedroom. I guess he was going to grab something for us to wear. It was only a moment, but Emmett looked in my direction, a flicker of guilt clouded his face.
"I'm sorry about this Bella. Really." He muttered quietly.
"What are you sorry for? What's going on Emmett? Where were you?" I said lightly. I didn't want him to think I was upset with him. I wasn't. Not like how Edward is. I'm just confused of this situation.
"It's a long story… I tend to self-destruct if things start getting difficult… I made some really bad decisions. I'm in some trouble…" He admitted, letting his head fall.
"What kind of trouble?" Edward asked sharply as he came back into the room. He now had on his causal lounge clothes and had thankfully brought me a robe. He helped me get the robe on, without revealing too much of my bare skin. Still, I had a feeling that Emmett's eyes were on me a few times. Once we were both properly dressed, Edward took a seat back on the couch and pulled me closely to his side. The guard that had been stationed in Ana's room was dismissed, so now it was just the three of us.
"Look, I wanted answers. And it seemed like Aro was the best person to go to for the truth. He seemed to know something about my birth mother. Something that Esme wasn't willing to share. So, I went to him." Emmett sighed, running his hand through his hair.
That's when I took notice of his clothing. He looked awful. As if he had been living on the streets, in the same pair of clothes for months on end. There was a slight smell coming off him. It was putrid. Stains on every inch of him. Not just his clothes.
"And did you get your answers?" I asked quietly.
"Aro wasn't willing to give me any details, unless I did some tasks for him. It was an exchange. A give and take. And at the time, I really didn't care who I might hurt…"
"What did you do Emmett?" Edward said, appearing to be losing his patience.
"I told Aro all the company secrets… Mostly things Esme has been doing illegally… But…I also… helped Tanya… attack Ana…" he said, barely above a whisper.
I felt my eyes widen. "Are you serious? Why would you do something like that?" I felt tears sting in my eyes. My emotions were beginning to take a turn for the worse. I was overwhelmed with sorrow and rage. How dare he! I thought he was my friend. I thought he was someone I could trust. The betrayal was heart breaking.
Edward winced next to me, hugging me a little closer, stroking my shoulder comfortingly. He could obviously feel everything I was experiencing. I felt bad for subjecting him to my every mood swing. It wasn't fair in the slightest, but it just wasn't something I could control at the moment.
"I don't know. I've been drunk for days Bella… No, weeks. I wasn't thinking clearly. I can't tell you how sorry I am…" Emmett begged, looking at me with a pleading look.
"So, you nearly killed Bella's sister… what was your reward for that?" Edward said with a glare. "I sure hope it was worth it."
"No, I didn't get anything for it. Because Ana survived. That's what I'm here to tell you. Aro isn't going to stop until Ana is dead. There will be more attempts made to end her life."
"Why is he doing this? What has Ana done to deserve any of this?" I said, choking back my boiling rage. I felt my hands ball up into fists under the stress.
"He is hoping this will disrupt things in the company. Because if the head of the business is suffering because his mate got the scar of misery, it would cause the company to fall into disarray."
"Aro is a monster, we were already aware of that. But why come here and tell us this? What made you change your mind about helping him?" Edward questioned with a suspicious look.
"He is making his move tonight. This time, with a lot more people getting involved. And well… I just can't keep doing this. I really do care for you Bella. You and your sister… I don't want to be part of the reason that you become miserable." Emmett responded, mostly looking in my direction.
It was pretty words. But I didn't trust them. I didn't trust Emmett anymore. I didn't want to speak with him or even look at him. This would forever change the way I saw him. He helped Tanya kill my sister.
"So, this place isn't safe for the time being. But we don't have many options, not with all of Ana's medical setup here. She wouldn't fair well being off these monitors and machines." Edward commented, pushing himself up to his feet to begin pacing the room. This was usually how he responded to stress. Or when he needed to work through a problem. It may help him, but it only made me nervous.
"Actually, I was the one that placed the curse on her. So, if you allow me, I'll remove it now. So, you guys can get her out of here." Emmett said with a sigh.
"This won't make up for what you've done." I said, finally looking him in the eye. "I don't think I'll ever forgive you for this Emmett."
"Fine, I can accept that. Just please let me do the right thing here. I realize my mistakes, I'm ready to take accountability." He said with a glum nod.
I looked to Edward now. Unsure if I should allow Emmett to even be in the same room as my sister. Edward met my gaze, his eyes flickering to me with a hard nod.
"He's a complete idiot. But my brother isn't a liar. We can believe he is here with good intentions." He replied with a hint of reluctance. "But I mean it Em, you really messed up this time."
"I know, trust me. What I've done is unforgiveable. All I can do now is try to make amends for everything I've done. Starting… here. Please, allow me to see Ana."
"Fine," That's all I could say. I didn't really want to talk to him. I couldn't even look at him. I was so mad. I trusted him. And I shouldn't have. Once I felt a betrayal to this degree, there was no going back. I know that it sounds harsh, but that's the reality of the situation.
Edward escorted Emmett out of the living room and in the direction of Ana's room. I didn't bother getting up from the couch. I didn't want to be in the same room as Emmett. Instead, I leaned back, wrapping blankets around myself and flipped the television on. The first show that came to the screen was some kind of medical drama. It wasn't something I'd normally watch, but at this point I barely cared. I just needed some kind of distraction. Some background noise. I held up my little ultrasound print out, quietly admiring the image. It raised my spirits tremendously.
There was so much to look forward to. I hadn't even realized how excited I was getting. Even more so, knowing the little baby growing inside me was a boy. There were a few people that I needed to tell about this. Katlyn and Esme were at the top of the list. They had been bugging me for the last few days about revealing the gender. I had considered keeping it a secret, just between me and Edward. But they wouldn't hear a word about it.
But before that, if Emmett really could bring Ana out of her coma, I wanted to tell her first. It was thanks to her that I had the courage to even take the pregnancy test. It has felt so long since I've talked to Ana. Too long. I was ready to see my sister again and have her part of my life. It's been lonely here without her.
There was some commotion in Ana's room, along with some cryptic chanting that I couldn't quite hear or understand. I heard Emmett's voice only. Then, silence once again. I waited, holding my breath. Hoping for any sign of her waking. It wasn't very long, maybe five minutes, but finally, I watched as Edward came walking back into the living room, supporting a weak-looking Ana, at his side.
She looked like she was on deaths door step, but I saw the light in her eyes as we looked at each other. Tears came to her eyes as I shot up from the couch and ran to her. I held her tiny body tightly in my arms, letting a few of my own tears fall. She clung to me, without any sign of strength.
"Bella, you have a little bump now, don't you?" Ana squealed, lightly moving down from our hug to lightly touch my stomach.
I sniffed, wiping my eyes. "Barely, I can't believe that's the first thing you say to me." I couldn't hold back the smile that came to my face. "More importantly, how are you feeling? Do you… realize how worried I've been?"
Ana gave me a dainty smile. "I'm perfectly fine. I must have been sleeping for a long time, my body feels… so stiff… and weak." She admitted quietly. "For a moment there… I thought I was dead…"
"Well, you have been unconscious for a while, but everything is okay now."
It's not like I could tell her that someone had placed a curse on her. The supernatural world I existed in wasn't for her. I could never tell her. I wanted her as far away from all of this as possible. I didn't know there would be a threat to her life by her being here. If I had known, I wouldn't have had her move in. Maybe it wasn't to late to send her back to Plum. I knew uncle Charlie would look after her. But there was no way Ana would agree to it. She was so happy here. This was her dream. To live in the big city.
"Seriously? How long have I been out?" Ana asked with a look of surprise.
To be honest, her coma began some time in the middle of January. It would be March in just a few days. I'm not sure how she would handle this kind of news. I wanted to be truthful, but I also didn't want to overwhelm her.
"I'm not sure, it's felt like a really long time now. But it's alright. You are fine now." I reassured her.
"Yeah, you keep saying that Bella, but I don't feel fine. What in the hell happened? I mean… does this mean I can't get my surgery?" Ana began to tremble, looking between me and Edward with panic and terror. "What happened to me?" She was nearly in hysteria. These huge emotional mood swings that she was having made it hard to focus on what she was asking.
I looked to Edward, begging him silently to jump in with some kind of excuse to give her. I was never good at lying, especially to Ana. She could always see right through my deceptions. Edward met my gaze and nodded with a small smile.
"There is no need to worry, you were placed in a medically induced coma. You may not remember the procedure. But this was done to prep you for the surgery. They needed to know how well your body would do under anesthesia." Edward lied smoothly.
He sounded so genuine, I would have believed him in a heartbeat, without a second thought. This did seem to calm Ana a little.
"I don't remember anything... there were strangers in my room. They started doing something weird… I thought I was just dreaming… Then I wake up and everything is different… I mean… why would they put me in a coma for so long?" she said with a distressed frown.
"Well, it turns out they needed to keep you under longer than expected because your body couldn't handle the anesthesia, they have been conditioning your body to withstand it. Once they were sure you were ready, they were able to wake you up from the coma." Edward continued, not missing a beat. He was good at this. Should I be worried? I had no idea that he was able to lie so believably.
Ana paused for a moment with a thoughtful look. "I guess… that makes sense." She seemed to accept his explanation. "So, does this mean I'll be getting the surgery soon?"
Edward and I exchanged looks. This time, I was the one to answer. "As soon as you feel ready, let me know and I'll set up the appointment."
"Great, then go ahead and schedule it… because I'm going to be really honest with you Bella. This is the worst I've ever felt… I'm not sure how much longer I can really hold on… this is absolutely miserable." She looked down to her feet with a sad look, before hobbling over to sit down on the couch.
I plopped down with her, not bothering to let her go. "Are you in pain?"
"Yes, more than usual. And I've noticed some differences… something just doesn't feel right. I'd feel much better to just get this cancer out of me." She leaned back on the couch with a look of pure exhaustion.
Now that I got a better look of her, I noted her skin was much paler. She also lost a significant amount of weight. Her eyes had sunken in. She was a shell of her former self. The amount of hair loss was another staggering realization. By now, she only had a few strands left. She did truly look worse than she had been.
Emmett and Tanya hadn't killed her, but they came pretty damn close. This young girl was nothing but bones. It looked like a gentle breeze would have been enough to blow her off her feet. I could see the urgency now.
"I'll start making phone calls right away." Edward said, but the look on his face sent alarm bells off within me. In a dash, he jogged out of the room. That expression. There was something he didn't want to say. It was a hollow, grim look. I couldn't help but instantly fear the worst possible thing. Was Ana still in danger? Had Emmett ended up doing something to her again? Did he trick us?
Instead of getting Ana even more worried, I turned to lighter conversations. "Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?"
Ana shook her head, chuckling without humor. "Funny enough, I don't feel hungry in the slightest. I'd rather talk about the baby. Is there any updates yet, have you been to any appointments?"
"Um, yeah, I just got back my first appointment today. I found out the gender… well they said it won't be confirmed officially for a few more weeks."
"Really," There was a hint of light in her eyes. "Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me."
"A boy," With a proud smile, I passed over the picture of the ultrasound.
Ana squealed, looking at the photo before pulling me in for another tight hug. "I'm so happy for you. I'm going to have a nephew. This is exciting. I wonder who he will look like most. I hope I'll be around to find out."
I frowned deeply. "Don't talk like that. Of course you will be around. Edward is going to get you an appointment scheduled as soon as possible. Don't worry about it."
"Just don't get your hopes up," Ana sighed. "Do you mind… getting in touch with mom for me?" Her question disturbed me more than I was willing to admit.
"Why would you want to talk to her?"
"There are some things I'd like to say to her, before I have the surgery. There are some things I need to get off my chest."
I didn't understand Ana's feelings when it came to our mother. I just couldn't see why she wanted to maintain any further relationship with her. Why not just ignore the fact she exists and move on with her life? That woman has caused her nothing but pain, for a long time.
"Well, I can get all the information for you, to call mom. But you have to promise me, that no matter how much she begs, don't send her money." I said with a serious look.
Ana bobbed her head, offering me a wide smile. "I promise. Thanks for doing this."
"If it's for you, I'd do just about anything." I smiled back.
That was the truth. She was my very precious little sister. And even though I didn't agree with getting back in contact with mom, I'd respect her wishes. It's the least I could do for her. Because of me, she was almost killed. But we weren't out of the woods yet. I knew there was something wrong with her. She wasn't well. And the way Edward left the room had me even more worried. What is going on?
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