Chapter
27 – Epilogue Part One
EDWARD
“Thanks for letting me
know, Liam,” I said softly into the phone, ending the call and dropping it onto
the bed next to me.
I fell back, gazing up at
the ceiling, my feet still hanging off the side of the mattress. I tried to
figure out what I was feeling, but I wasn’t sure I was feeling anything. If I were completely honest
with myself, I had been expecting that call long before now, well before I’d
entered into the first semester of my senior year at Edgewater.
I heard the door to the
apartment open and close, Bella’s sweet voice calling out to me. “Edward, baby!
Where are you?” she said, entering the bedroom, and I couldn’t help but grin
when she was suddenly crawling up my body to loom over me. “Hi, handsome!”
Cupping her face, I
pulled her in for a kiss. “Hey, pretty girl.”
“What are you…” She
paused, reaching up to brush my hair from my forehead. “What’s wrong? Your eyes
look…tense.”
Snorting a little, I
brought her in for another kiss. “Dad’s out.”
To say my girl hated
Carlisle Cullen would be a complete and total understatement. Her eyes
narrowed, and she sat up, still straddling me. “Out where?” she asked slowly
and through gritted teeth.
“He was released, Bella,”
I sighed, sitting up and situating her on my lap. “He’s at a halfway house in
Seattle, where he will remain for another six months or so. He’s…out.”
While Bella had finally
chosen a major – business management, which was her idea to help not only Aunt
Jane but me as well – I’d still continued to turn to Charlie in order to be a
writer. His guidance, along with his connections in the publishing world, had
at least gotten my first book in the door. We were just waiting to hear back.
But the girl on my lap
knew me better than I probably knew myself, and her gentle touch was soothing
as she raked her fingers through my hair. “If he called you… I swear to God—”
I cut her off with
another kiss. “No, no, baby, that was Liam on the phone.”
“Oh,” she murmured, her
brow wrinkling as she waited patiently for me to find the words.
Toying with her fingers,
I tilted my head at her. “It seems like I should be feeling something, but I’m
not. Not a damn thing. I just… I don’t even care. And…and… Apparently he’d been
hurt or something while in there, but he’s out.” I sniffed a bit, wrinkling my
nose. “Liam says Dad will be staying in Seattle, even after the halfway house
situation.”
“Okay. Does Em know yet?”
“Yeah, yeah. Liam said
he’d call Emmett next. Though, I promised him I’d break it to Ali.”
My brother and Rose had
finally transferred last year down to a large state college not far from
Glenhaven – just a few hours from us, actually. They’d been married in a small
ceremony right after they’d gotten settled in. I’d been his Best Man, and Alice
and Bella had shared the duties of Maid of Honor. Emmett was working for a
small architecture firm while Rosalie was deep in law school. After this year,
she’d take the bar exam.
As I remembered the
intimate ceremony, I gazed at Bella, wanting it more and more. I was ready to
ask her, though I needed to find the perfect time. The ring was already in my
possession, hidden well in the back of my nightstand drawer. Reaching up, I
fiddled with the necklace I’d given her for her twentieth birthday. We’d just
moved in together, and we’d been busy with our sophomore year, but I remembered
that day so damned clearly. It was the very first time I’d set foot in water
since my mother had died. But it hadn’t been the last. Bella and I went to the
beach all the time – or at least when we had a spare moment.
“I love you,” I
whispered, leaning in to kiss her lips. “And I’m okay. He can’t contact me, and
he’s not allowed to leave the state. Even if he did, I can’t imagine that he’d
want anything to do with any of us, pretty girl, so stop worrying.”
“You’d think so, but you
never know with him, Edward,” she stated, shaking her head. “Don’t forget he
tried to write letters and call.”
“I know, baby, but he’s
got to learn to make a living now. No more medical license, so sleazy
prescriptions are out.” I grinned at her evil smile. “I do believe he’s got
enough shit to deal with besides angry, overprotective brunettes.”
She scoffed, rolling her
eyes. “He’d walk away with a limp. That’s all I’m sayin’.”
“Of that, I have no
doubt.”
She was right; Dad had
tried to contact all three of us at some point or other during his imprisonment.
All letters had been returned, and every last one of us had changed our phone
number, though mine had been changed before we’d even packed up our stuff in
Forks, thanks to Jasper.
The thought of Jasper
made me think of Alice. “Damn, I really do need to tell my sister. Is she
downstairs with Jasper yet?”
Bella nodded. “Yeah, she
just got there, actually. She’s taking a break before the art show tonight with
Mom.”
“Gotcha.” I kissed my
girl’s lips one more time, gripping her waist and setting her on her feet.
When Alice had told me
originally that she’d applied to Edgewater, I knew in some ways it was to be
closer to me and away from our father. I also knew that she’d really love it in
Florida, and she did. What I never expected – none of us, actually – was that
Alice and Renee would develop a fierce bond. My sister loved art but was never
allowed to do anything with it thanks to Dad, but now she’d not only surrounded
herself with art classes, she’d learned to love the history of it, the showing
of it, and the process of it all. Renee fed it, built it up, and gave my sister
the encouragement she needed. It had been amazing to watch. Alice had needed a
mother more than I could possibly explain, and she’d found one. And Renee had
found another hyper daughter and an art student in my sister, who soaked
everything up like a sponge.
I stood up from the bed,
pocketing my cell phone, and turned to see Bella studying me. “What, pretty
girl?”
“He’s… Your dad, Edward…
He’s not important. You know that, right? Anything that’s happened since the
moment he decided to lay a hand on you is his own doing, and whatever happens
to him…he’s earned it.”
Smiling at her
fierceness, I nodded. “I’m well aware, baby.”
Her brow furrowed as she
fidgeted in front of me. “I know – deep down – that one day he’s…he’ll say or
do the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person and—”
I stopped her again with
a kiss, but I was chuckling into it because I really did love that rambling
honesty that never stopped. It was so Bella, and it flowed out of her adorably.
“Easy, baby,” I soothed
her, dropping my forehead to hers. “He no longer has power here.” I gestured
between us. “I’m not sure he ever did, Bella.”
“Well, I’m just sayin’… I
just can’t wait until you’re published and you’re this awesome writer and you
can prove to him that he didn’t win.”
Grinning, I kissed her
again. “My pretty girl,” I sang to her, shaking my head. “You seem to think
there’s some impending Edmund Dantes
revenge moment still to come, but beautiful, I’ve already won. I’ve already had
my say, and I’ve found everything I need. Right
here.”
Holding her face in my
hands, I kissed her, smiling when she giggled at me.
“The Count was badass,”
she whispered.
Laughing, I linked my
fingers with hers and led us out of our apartment and down the stairs. I kissed
her once more before she went into the bookstore, and I made my way into the
back of the café and out to the front counter.
“Ah, hell, kiddo. What
happened?” Tanya whispered, leaning against the counter.
Grimacing, I pointed to
Alice, who was sitting in a booth with Jasper. “I need my sister.”
“Shit, he’s out,” she
breathed.
If anyone understood
terrible fathers, it was Tanya, whose own had just recently drunk himself to death.
She’d barely batted an eye because their relationship was tense and she’d been
expecting it for years. I nodded once and then went to the booth, sliding in
next to Alice.
“Hiya, big brother,” she
greeted, but her smile fell immediately. “What? What happened?”
Jasper started to get up,
but I stopped him. “You…might wanna stay, Jasper.”
“Ed, you all right?” he
asked.
Grimacing a little, I
nodded. “Yeah, it’s just that I got a call a few minutes ago.” I turned to face
my sister. “Liam called me. He wanted to let me know that Dad’s been released.”
The happy blue in my
sister’s eyes darkened. Her hatred for our father rivaled that of Bella’s. The
very moment Dad had been arrested by Chief Yorkie on that Christmas Day after
our fight, my sister had washed her hands of him. She had no desire to hear his
side, see him, talk to him, or even sue him. We’d had no choice but to appear
in court the one time. I wasn’t even sure she’d looked his way while on the
stand.
“So…the fucker’s free?”
she sneered, her hands balling up into fists.
“Not free but out of
prison. He’s been released to a halfway house for the remainder of his
sentence. He’s in Seattle.”
“He’d better stay in
Seattle,” she muttered, frowning down at her cup of coffee. “He…he can’t call
or anything. Do we need to do anything? Like another restraining order?”
“No, Ali, I think we’re
okay. He’s not supposed to leave the state, and we’ve never allowed any contact
since the trial, so I’m pretty sure he’s gotten the message. If he hasn’t, then
Liam is happy to explain it to him.”
Alice snorted, looking up
at me. “I bet he will. He’s been awesome.”
“He has,” I sighed,
nodding in agreement.
Pastor Liam, our mother’s
old friend, had maintained contact with all three of us since Dad had been
arrested. He constantly checked on us all, had flown down for Emmett’s wedding,
and he’d teased me about mine being next. He’d also helped with the sale of the
house in Forks, kept us posted on news about our father, and refused to let us
thank him. He’d become a very good friend, almost family, stating that it was
what our mother would’ve wanted, and he’d admitted more than once to me that it
was his way of making up for what we’d been through.
“You coming tonight?” she
asked me, the blue in her eyes back to their happy sparkle.
“Hell, yeah! Like I’d
miss seeing your work, Ali,” I teased, leaning in to kiss the side of her head.
“Emmett and Rose, too. They were leaving after Emmett got off work. Bella and I
will be at the art building as soon as she’s finished next door.”
I slipped out of the
booth, but Jasper’s voice stopped me.
“Hey, Edward? You think…
You think he’ll try to contact you guys again?” he asked, and his gaze
flickered to my sister. I could tell he was worried, that he’d have to protect
her – us – in some way.
I thought about it,
remembering the letters to all of us and the phone calls our father had tried
to make to Alice and Emmett, but they’d stopped eventually.
Finally meeting his gaze,
I said, “No, I don’t.”
~oOo~
The eerie cry of the
Sandhill Cranes made me smile and glance over at the tall, gray birds. That
otherworldly call echoed out again, along with the mimicking baby crane that
was with them. I had no way of knowing if they were the same two I’d seen the
first time I’d set foot on the Swan property, but the daydreamer in me liked to
think so. Bella had said they mated for life, so my hope was that they were the
same two, raising a new little one.
Gazing out over the small
lake in the backyard, I tapped my pen on my open journal. Sometimes the sight
of water made me melancholy, but the panicky feelings hardly rose to the
surface anymore. I still saw the accident, and I still worried endlessly
whenever anyone was driving in poor weather, but I was working on it.
Right at that moment,
though, I couldn’t feel anything but hope and nerves. I hoped I was doing this
the right way, but I was nervous about being able to pull it off. Rereading
what I’d already written, I added to it. I found myself writing until the sun started
to set. I still used the journal to write to Bella, and I used it to sort out
tough conversations. This was both. And most likely the last tough conversation
I’d ever have to work though.
When I felt arms wrap
around me from behind, I closed the book and grinned over my shoulder at Bella.
“Dinner’s ready,
handsome.”
I brushed my lips over
hers, chuckling when she landed across my lap, and I couldn’t help but cradle
her in my arms. She gazed up at me, warm brown eyes that were happy, sweet, and
curious.
“Now what’s got you
writing in this thing?” she asked teasingly, reaching for my journal – the same
journal I’d left with her when I’d first gone home to Washington.
Laughing, I pulled it
away from her. “Just some stuff I needed to work through. It’s been a busy
year, baby. I was just… Hell, pretty girl, we’re almost college graduates.”
She beamed up at me,
cupping my face and bringing me in for a kiss. “And you are almost a published author!”
As awesome as that
sounded, the words I’d just written down in my journal were more important than
the book that had finally been accepted by a publishing house, and they wanted
more. The story I’d written so long ago with my mother’s help, the same story
I’d made up for my sister, and the first story Bella had ever read of mine, was
now going to be in print. Elven princesses and kings and archer boys would soon
be out for everyone to see. Everyone wanted to celebrate, which was why we were
having dinner at her parents’ house.
Grinning, I kissed her
again. “C’mon, pretty girl. Let’s eat, and then I can celebrate with just you.”
I buried my face in her neck to kiss her just for the squeal into the giggles I
lived to hear.
She stood up from my lap,
and I tucked my journal and pen away into my backpack. When we stepped up into
the back deck, I realized this was where we would’ve eaten the first time I’d
ever come to this house, but they’d moved dinner indoors due to my fear of
water. As I gazed around the table, I saw what real family was, what it
should’ve been all along. It was my own flesh and blood – Emmett and Alice –
along with the family who’d loved me from the moment the girl at my side said
she was keeping me. Rose had become another sister, not to mention my
sister-in-law. Charlie, who’d become the father I always needed. Renee, who was
the mother to us all. Aunt Jane was strength and humor and a calm in the storm.
Jasper had become not
only my best friend but another brother – and most likely my brother-in-law,
because he’d already pulled Emmett and me aside to ask us for permission to
marry Alice. We’d outright laughed at him, because he didn’t need our
permission; Alice was quite capable of making that decision all on her own. And
I was pretty sure she knew it was coming.
Then there was Bella. I
gazed over at her, linking my fingers with hers beneath the table and giving
them a soft squeeze. Without her, I had no idea where my life would be – not at
that table, that was for certain.
Dinner was fun and loud,
with teasing and the usual name calling between Bella and Jasper, which now
included Emmett. Despite the fact that it was in celebration of my book, I
stayed quiet, absorbing every second of it, but I needed to watch my time
because there was someplace I wanted to be before it closed.
The drive back was comfortably
quiet. Bella’s hand was in mine as I drove the roads back into town, when I
turned toward the library and not our apartment, Bella looked over at me.
“I need to grab a book
before class on Monday, pretty girl. You mind?”
“No, not at all. I should
probably return the one we finished.”
We walked into the
library, setting our things down at our usual table. I knew we only had about
thirty minutes before they closed, but it should work, and I was happy to see
there was hardly a soul inside, except for the kid behind the counter and two
girls who were packing up.
“You want that other book
we talked about?” Bella asked after dropping off the one we’d just finished
reading together.
Smirking, I shrugged a
shoulder. “It’s your turn to pick, baby.”
God, I loved that we’d
never stopped reading to each other. Sometimes we’d read for class or for
ourselves, but we always came back to reading to each other. I needed it and
Bella seemed to live for it, so we kept going.
“Okay,” she sang,
spinning around to make her way to the fiction section.
I waited until she was in
the back before I pulled out my journal, setting it on top of her things. I
left it just like I’d left it on her pillow the day I’d left for Washington – a
bright purple flower sticking out as a bookmark. However, there was more inside
than just a note to her. Before she could come back to the table, I stepped
away. I did need a book for class, so I grabbed it quickly and checked it out,
hiding behind the first bookcase to wait. She checked out a book and came to a
stop at the table.
Bella gazed around,
probably looking for me, but her hand reached out to pick up the book as she
sat down in the chair. I’d reread the note so many times, I had it memorized.
To
the girl who used to be a few tables away,
I
remember the first time I saw you, there were tears in your eyes. I remember
thinking that the book you were reading had to be something else in order to
bring you to that much emotion. I needed to know exactly what made you cry, so
I read the same book. And yeah, I cried a little, too, which told me that your
heart was as beautiful as the rest of you. I remember the first time I heard your
voice. It was soft and sweet but filled with protectiveness and bravery, but
there was humor and laughter in it, as well, which only proved to me that you
were smart and funny and honest.
Bella,
my pretty girl, I remember everything about you from moment I first saw you.
There’s not a thing I ever want to forget. The first time I trusted you to let
you in, the first time you told me you weren’t going anywhere, and the first
time our lips met. And my God, the first time you told me you loved me! All of
it is stored away so I can remember it.
What
started out as a shy, quiet, invisible boy crushing on a pretty girl just a few
feet away turned into the best thing to ever happen to me. You made me strong
when I thought I was weak. You made me feel things I thought were only in
books. You forced me to see myself through your beautiful eyes. You gave me
family and courage and a shoulder to cry on when life became too much. But
mostly, my beautiful Bella, you gave me you. You offered up yourself with love
and happiness and the sweetest smile I’d ever had the honor of seeing.
I’m
a better man because of you. I told you once in this very journal that I know
where I’m going in life, Bella. I know at the end of the day, it’s only you I
need. Nothing about that has changed. No college graduation or book contracts
or whatever life may bring our way will ever change the way I feel about you.
My
mother once told me that I’d meet a girl who didn’t mind that I was shy, who wouldn’t
mind if I couldn’t quite find the words. She told me that the right girl would
love those things about me, that she’d wait until I did find the words. She
told me that once I found her, I needed to be honest at all times; I needed to
cherish her, love her, take care of her.
Well,
I’ve found that girl, Bella. And all I want for the rest of my life is to love
you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
Will
you marry me?
Love,
the boy who wants to always share your table…
Edward
I moved when my sweet
girl sniffled, and I sat down in the chair next to hers. She picked up the red
satin ribbon, which was the bookmark of the journal, but I’d used it to tie the
ring to it. She pulled it off, finally meeting my gaze.
“I meant every word,
pretty girl,” I whispered, reaching up to gently wipe away the tears that were
falling from her deep warm eyes. “I wanted to ask you here, in this place,
because I never want to forget how we started.”
She was up and out of her
chair and in my lap before I could blink, which made me chuckle at her, but her
lips met mine roughly.
“Yes! The answer’s yes,
Edward!” Her voice was a whisper, but there was an emotional edge to it, too.
“Oh, I’m glad there’s no one in here, baby, because I’m really going to kiss
you stupid.”
And she did. She kissed
me with love and heat, and I could taste the salty tears she was still leaking.
I couldn’t help but smile into it, and when I pulled back, I dropped my
forehead to hers.
“Here,” she said, holding
out her hand, which was in a fist. When she opened it up, her ring was in her
palm. “You do it.”
The ring was simple and
beautiful, just like my pretty girl. And it fit, which I’d known it would, but
that was a perk when I had a sneaky little sister that found out the size for
me. Once it was on Bella’s finger, I brought it up to my lips, kissing it
reverently.
“Edward?” she asked
softly.
“Hmm?”
“Can we go home?”
Smiling, I nodded.
“Yeah, pretty girl. Home.”
1 comments:
I loved Bella and the whole Swan family in this fic, I kind of want them to adopt me :-)
Enjoy a well earned break, we will be waiting when you find your way back xxx
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