A/N: Hello new readers! Wow where are you coming from? I hope you all are still enjoying this ride. Did you like the cliffy-less ending last chapter? Good cause it will be the last one for a while ;( But as long as my children cooperate and I can get two more chapters done today there might be another surprise posting on Wednesday.
Melanie had a special request for Edward and he delivered for her in this chapter. Thank you girlie…you are much more than a beta.
After a moment of silence between the pair, Edward shook his head, trying to get the less honorable thoughts from his mind. He reached his hand over and pulled Bella from the bench, averting his eyes as she tugged her borrowed shirt down to cover more of herself.
Her eyes strayed to the phone sitting on the nightstand and Edward nodded towards it. She raced over, sitting on the bed as she dialed the number, frowning as she once again failed to hear anything but ringing. She hung up dejectedly and looked up at Edward in defeat.
"Hungry?" He asked and her stomach growled loudly in confirmation. He chuckled as he walked towards the door, assuming she was following behind. When he turned to speak to her, he was surprised to find her still sitting on the bed. He watched her worry her lip between her teeth as she shifted restlessly, her eyes trained on her fingers that were twisted in her lap.
"You coming?" He asked quietly, trying not to startle her, but her head whipped up at the sound, her face and chest flushing pink.
"Could…" She mumbled and her hands flew up to cover her face as she tried to finish her request. "Could I have some pants to wear?"
Edward smiled as he slowly crossed the room to pull a pair of sleep pants from the dresser, silently thanking his mother for her sentimentality. She had kept all of his clothes from before he left for school, so the pants were much smaller than the ones he would wear now. He showed her to the bathroom and waited patiently as she took care of business and got dressed.
Bella splashed water on her still overheated skin and wiped the tear tracks from her face. She was embarrassed that she had kissed Edward, but could not say that she regretted it. Even before she had been taken she never acted on her desires. Her friends at school would do whatever they wanted without thinking about the consequences, but from the time she had been born, the fact that every action had a consequence was drilled into her head.
Her mother had slept around and ended up getting pregnant.
Action…consequence.
Her father gave up his scholarship to the University of Connecticut to stay in the small town of Forks so he could marry her mother and set up house.
Action…consequence.
A year after her birth, her mother went out drinking to try and forget her child and husband at home and ended up wrapping her car around a tree, dying instantly.
Action…consequence.
Bella could never do anything spontaneous because she always needed to know all of the possible consequences of her decision. When she sent her application in to the University of Washington, it took her three months to write out all of the pros and cons. Her father finally found the paperwork and mailed it himself, because he knew if he left it up to Bella, she would be working as a cashier at the Safeway for the rest of her life so she would never have to worry about the fallout of major decisions. But Bella was tired of thinking. She wanted to follow her heart instead of following her head. And her heart was leading straight to Edward and his family who took her into their home without even thinking twice. They did not worry about the consequences, they just did what they thought was best. And Bella vowed to do the same, no matter what the cost.
**()*()**
As Bella followed Edward into the kitchen, she was relieved that no one else was awake yet. She did not feel like dealing with the rest of his family, no matter how nice they seemed. Bella had not felt the comforting warmth of a mother's love in so long, especially since she could not even remember her own mother. While her father worked hard to make sure that she never wanted for anything, he did not think about the natural cravings humans have for touch. Bella could count on one hand the number of times her father had hugged her.
Bella leaned up against the counter as she watched Edward move around the kitchen. Since it had always just been just her father and herself, she had become the one to cook in their house. She loved watching her father enjoy a meal she had worked on all day. Edward moved around the kitchen as if he had been made for it. While some men just looked as if they had been born to be on a football field or basketball court, Edward Cullen was destined to be in a kitchen. He pulled down a large mixing bowl and gathered the ingredients he needed. When he set a large can next to her on the counter she turned and looked down at it.
"What is this for?" She asked, turning the can over in her hands.
"We're making muffins." He answered as he measured out flour and brown sugar in the bowl. He reached into a drawer below him and handed her a can opener. She smiled up at him before opening the can and looking down into the orangey-brown substance. Edward reached in front of her and dipped his finger into the goo, popping it into his mouth with a grimace.
"I usually bake and prep my own pumpkin, but we don't have one…and I am really in the mood for pumpkin muffins all of the sudden." He said as he grabbed the can and scooped the pumpkin purée into the dry ingredients. Bella pushed away from the counter and moved to the pantry where Esme had all of her baking supplies. She rummaged around for a moment before handing Edward a large red container. He stared down at the object in his hand for a moment before Bella laughed and took it from him, opening it and shaking some of the contents into the bowl. Edward turned his head and looked at her smiling face.
"You just ruined a perfectly good batch of pumpkin muffins." He mocked, making her giggle.
"No, I just made a perfectly good batch of pumpkin raisin muffins. I promise you will love them. The moisture from the pumpkin will make the raisins all plump and juicy. I always add them to my banana bread and it just makes it ten times better. It's like my secret ingredient." She said quietly as she put the lid on the raisin container and set it back in the pantry.
Edward grinned and winked at her as he added molasses to the batter. "Now you know my secret ingredient. These may be the best ever." Bella watched as Edward scooped the perfect amount of the mixture into each of the prepared muffin pans and slid them into the pre-heated oven. She smiled when he looked over at her, his forearms covered in bubbles as he washed the bowl and measuring cups he had used.
"You sure know your way around a kitchen." She teased.
"Well, my Mom really wanted a daughter, but when I was a boy she decided that she would just teach me to cook. Emmett never wanted anything to do with the kitchen except eat, but from the moment she tied my first apron on me, I was hooked. I loved watching the simple dry and wet ingredients become something delicious. I was the only guy in the home-ec classes, but it didn't bother me. All the girls thought it was sexy that I could cook." He said with a sly wink. Little did Bella know that it also made for some very rough times in the locker room when his classmates decided to hide his clothes after gym and fill his bag with their leftover lunches. It was not until he went to Le Cordon Bleu in Boston that he finally felt like he could show his true self without fear of ridicule, even if he was one of the only men in the Patisserie and Baking program.
Edward set the clean equipment on the counter to dry and went to the fridge, pulling out a loaf of cinnamon bread he had made the day before. Grabbing the cream and eggs, he set up an assembly line as he prepared his signature Crème Brule French toast. Bella watched as he made a quick caramel and swirled it on the bottom of a baking dish. He laid the egg-soaked bread slices on top and covered the bread with more caramel. The dish went into the oven with the muffins and soon the room smelled just like his bakery did. Edward had just started a pot of coffee when his mother and father walked into the kitchen, following the smell. Esme hated when Edward moved out of the house, not only because she would miss him, but because she would no longer be treated to a warm and delicious breakfast every morning.
"Good morning Bella dear. How are you feeling today?" Esme asked as she sat down at the kitchen table while Carlisle got two coffee cups out of the cabinet. Bella blushed sweetly as she remembered the kind woman holding her as she wept the night before and mumbled a good morning. She could not help but stiffen when Carlisle slid into the chair next to her, handing Esme her cup of coffee. She tried not to fidget as she felt his eyes on her, but it was no use. When she saw his hand move towards her from the corner of her eye, she darted from the chair and across the kitchen to where Edward was standing near the oven. The room was eerily silent as she cowered next to Edward, her hands hiding her face as she pressed against his side. Slowly he reached his arms down and pulled her into his side, his face coming down to press into her hair. He raised his eyes to search out his father, but the table was empty. Bella trembled in his arms as he guided her over to the table so he could sit, dragging her into his lap. She curled against him like a cat and he ran his hand over her silken hair.
"I'm so sorry. I keep messing things up." She whimpered into his chest. His hand stilled on her hair as he felt a wave of anger surge through him.
"None of this is your fault. You have every reason to be cautious after what you've been through. I am just so glad you're able to trust me. The rest will come with time." He replied, resuming the movement of his hand. She pulled away and looked up at him, her face tear-dampened and fierce.
"No, I shouldn't be like this. I was never like this before they took me. How long is it going to take to get my life back?" She snarled, looking more like a fierce lioness than the little lamb she usually was. He chuckled as he reached toward her face, halting his hand as he saw someone moving out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and found his brother standing in the doorway, his face grim.
"Emmett?" Edward questioned, drawing Bella's attention to the hulking man hesitating in the entrance.
"I think it is going to take a bit longer to be able to go back to your old life Bella. I found out why your father has not been answering his phone."
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