I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we'll make it anywhere
Away from here.
Run – Snow Patrol
"Bella?"
"Mmm?"
"Baby, you need to wake up."
I slowly forced my eyes to open, and it took me a few moments to remember why I was lying down on something that was moving and, more importantly, whose legs my head was currently using a pillow.
"Shit, I'm sorry," I mumbled, awkwardly rolling over to get a better look at Edward and trying not to fall off the limousine seat at the same time. "Was I out for long?"
"Only a few hours," he replied, gently brushing my hair back from my face and smiling down at me.
"I'm really sorry." I reached for his free hand and entwined our fingers, squeezing gently. "I didn't mean to fall asleep – I'm meant to be keeping you company."
"Don't worry about it, baby. You kept me entertained with your sleep-rambling, so I wasn't exactly bored," he assured me. I smiled shyly at him, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
"What did I say this time?" I wondered, dreading the answer.
"Nothing much," he lied, running his fingers through my hair again. "You only talk that much when you're really tired, so I decided to let you sleep until we arrived."
"Yeah, and whose fault is it that I'm that tired?" I teased. We'd spent a lot of time in the shower the previous night, discussing things in as much detail as possible, bearing in mind we could only be in there for a certain amount of time. Edward didn't know everything yet, but he'd find out for sure today, and that would allow us to solidify our plans somewhat.
All he knew so far was that there was going to be a routine communications black out on Thanksgiving, whereby all the cameras and mics would temporarily be turned off, and although we didn't know for sure how long the blackout would last, it was clear that window of time was our best hope if we wanted to make it out alive.
We still had no idea how we would be able to get Rosalie out from Royce's clutches without arousing suspicion, but we would improvise if we had to, and my suggestion of simply killing the fucker hadn't exactly been completely rejected yet. Part of me hoped there wouldn't be another solution to our problem, purely because I wanted to give Rosalie the chance to get her own back on him; she deserved that much.
Luckily, thanks to the blackout providing the cover we needed, our route had been pretty easy to figure out for the most part – what I'd realized was a trapdoor the day before turned out to be an emergency exit route that had tunnels leading in different directions out the compound. The one we were planning on taking would lead us out into the open, so to speak, and we could get our back-up to pick us up from there.
If we could manage to get the back-up, of course.
"It's yours." Edward gently ran his fingers down the side of my face, then moved them over to my lips. I kissed them softly automatically, making him smile. "If you weren't so attractive, I wouldn't be thinking with the wrong head."
I rolled my eyes and smiled shyly, turning towards him more so that my head was properly in his lap. He inhaled sharply as my nose brushed against the zipper of his jeans, then let out a shaky breath when I pressed my lips to the same area. It wasn't meant as a sexual thing. Not really. It was more of an… intimacy thing. I just wanted to be close to him in any way I could.
"What's the plan for this evening?" I murmured softly, letting my eyes fall shut as Edward's fingers resumed their gentle stroking.
"Same as usual," he replied, shrugging. "We can stay in our hotel room and order room service, or we can go down to eat with Marcus, Didyme and Corinne. Either way, I'll have to leave at some point for a meeting with Marcus later on. He wants to discuss a few things."
"Corinne's staying there too?" I wasn't entirely sure why I was surprised to hear that, but I was.
"Yeah, um…" He hesitated a moment, obviously conflicted. "They take her with them whenever they go away together on business now."
"Why?" I wondered, frowning. "I mean, I get why, but I don't understand what started it. Why haven't they always done that?"
He hesitated again, then sighed softly. "A couple of months back, Didyme and Marcus went to a charity fundraiser by themselves and left Corinne behind. Nobody knows for sure what happened that night, but the gist of it is that Royce came on to Corinne and tried to kiss her."
"Oh, my God!" I gasped. "He actually… That…"
"I know," he replied, shaking his head in disgust. "I can't even… She was traumatized by it. Still is."
"I'm not surprised," I murmured. I hadn't expected that. There was some tension between Royce and Corinne, I knew that much, but I'd just assumed it was due to the creepy air he had about him, not that. She was seventeen.
"Was Rose… How long has she been…" I couldn't even finish my sentence. My mouth was really dry all of a sudden, and it was hard to swallow.
"She's been Royce's for more than a few months." It was all Edward had to say to make the nausea I'd been fighting the entire car journey to return full force.
"I feel sick," I muttered.
"Car sick or ill sick?" Edward asked softly, but I could tell he already knew what the true reason behind it was.
"Bit of both," I told him somewhat truthfully. Although the limo we were in probably wasn't bugged like our suite, we were being driven by a chauffer who may have been able to hear our every word, so we had to be extra careful.
"How much longer until we arrive?" I wondered, carefully trying to push myself up into a sitting position. The entire limo swayed and turned as a wave of dizziness swept over me, making me fall into Edward, who instantly tried to support me.
"Easy," he soothed, sounding worried. I'd been feeling off when we woke up this morning, but once we'd gotten into the limo (something which still seemed completely unnecessary to me – we could happily drive ourselves or share a car with Didyme and co.) I'd started to feel travel sick, and things had gotten worse from there. I'd ended up forcing myself to try and sleep it off, but it didn't seem to have worked.
"I… I feel weird," I told him as I closed my eyes, trying to make the world stop spinning so fast. I wasn't entirely sure what was wrong, but there was no doubt in my mind that the news about Corinne was making things worse. It was like my brain couldn't cope with yet another lot of that kind of information, and the only way it could express itself was through making me feel this way.
"We'll be there soon, baby," he promised, gently rubbing my back. "Then we can get you into bed."
"I'll be fine," I assured him, but even I could tell I'd done a poor job at concealing my disbelief in my words.
"Bella, you need to rest," he said softly. "There's no point in forcing yourself to keep going – you'll only end up feeling worse."
I nodded noncommittally. We both knew that stopping wasn't an option right now; we needed to get these plans solidified as much as possible, as soon as possible. We didn't have to have everything set in stone yet, but we needed a rough outline as far as the timing was concerned – The Agency would need to know that sort of thing in order to come and get us, and since we couldn't exactly call them from the compound, now was our one and only shot.
I needed to focus.
"Carlos?" Edward called to the driver, who lowered the screen between us and him.
"Yes?"
"Can you stop off at the nearest gas station?" he asked. I looked up at him in shock.
"Edward, I don't-"
"The hotel is less than twenty minutes away, Sir," Carlos replied, ignoring my protest.
"I'm aware of that, but Bella's sick and I need to get something from the store." Edward's tone was polite but firm, and I heard Carlos mutter something unintelligible before raising the screen again.
"You didn't need to do that, you know," I mumbled, embarrassed. "We can keep going."
"You don't have to put on a brave face, Bella. I can tell you're not feeling well, no matter how much you try and deny it," he said softly, bringing his hand up to my face. "And even if you weren't sick, I'd still need to go to the store."
"For what? Can't we just get whatever it is from the hotel?"
"That's not an option," he told me firmly. I frowned slightly, confused by his tone of voice.
"I'm… Sorry?" I offered as I shifted away from him a little and leaned against the back of the seat.
"Bella…" He grimaced, then muttered something under his breath before closing the distance between us again. "Baby, don't apologize. I'm the one who should be-"
"It's fine," I assured him, smiling weakly. I wasn't upset by the tone he'd taken, just confused. "It's been a long day, and we're both tired."
"Not too tired, I hope." He placed his hand on my thigh, then gently pulled me against him, making my leg slide over his. "Otherwise, this stop will be pointless."
"Oh yeah?" I tried to sound teasing, but my heart wasn't really in it. I knew he was acting now, and I knew how important it was that we made things believable, but the nausea was worsening by the second. "And why is that?"
Edward smirked and ran his hand up my leg, his fingers slipping beneath my skirt. "I have… plans for us tonight, and since we forgot to pack a certain bottle…"
"Oooooh. I see." Forcing myself to push through the nausea, I slid my leg over both of his and straddled his lap, focusing my gaze on his. "And what makes you think I'll be letting your plans become reality?"
He smiled slowly, then slipped both his hands below my skirt and cupped my ass, pulling me closer. I settled down against him, wrapping my arms around his neck, then sighed softly as he moved his lips to my ear and whispered, "I need to buy a disposable cell phone for you to use when you call them."
I smirked, trying to stay in character, then rolled my hips against his and leaned back as he started kissing my neck. "Okay, then. And, uh… when, exactly, are you going to carry out your… plans?"
He grinned. "That depends. Once we get up to our room, how long do you think it'll take you to get rid of these?" He gestured to my clothes.
"Hmmm…" I leaned in until my lips were beside his ear and whispered, "Twenty-five seconds."
"That long?" he teased, toying with the elastic of my panties.
"I added a few seconds to make up for the delay you'll cause when you can't keep your hands off me." I kissed my way down his neck and shifted even closer to him, trying to focus.
"You okay, baby?" he murmured, loud enough for only me to hear as he slowly guided my hips in a circle above him, covering for me.
I hesitated. "No. I'm not okay."
"I'm so sorry," he breathed, then pulled his hands out from under my skirt and wrapped his arms around me. I all but melted into his embrace, nuzzling closer to him and lazily kissing his neck.
"It's not your fault I feel sick," I mumbled. "It's probably a reaction to the pill. I mean, some women feel sick unless they take it at night, or so I've heard."
"It's my fault you're on the pill," he countered. "Stop taking it, baby."
"We both know I can't do that," I pointed out, then groaned as the limo hit a bump in the road. Edward cursed under his breath, holding me a little tighter, then sighed with relief as the limo slowed to a stop and the barrier between us and the driver was lowered.
"We're at the gas station," Carlos told us. "Do you want me to get you-"
"No, thank you, Carlos," Edward replied, giving him a pointed look. I turned my head in Carlos' direction, and struggled not to roll my eyes as he looked me up and down before finally raising the barrier again.
"You okay to walk?" Edward murmured, gently gripping my hips.
"I'm nauseated, Edward, not crippled," I joked as I climbed off his lap and scooted across to the door, opening it quickly before turning back to look at him.
"You coming?"
Twenty minutes and one bag from the shop later, we had pulled up in front of the surprisingly nice hotel, and Edward was helping me out the car. I shivered as Carlos shut our door behind me, confused as to why it suddenly seemed so cold out; when we were outside the gas station, it didn't feel this bad.
"You okay, baby?" Edward asked, frowning. "You seem pale all of a sudden."
"Do I?" I wasn't entirely surprised – I still felt like shit. "Sorry."
He looked at me strangely for a second, then shook his head and put our bags down on the ground in front of him before unzipping his hoodie. I opened my mouth to protest, realizing what he planned to do, but then he draped the warm fabric over my shoulders, and I couldn't help but sigh happily.
"Better?" he murmured softly as I gripped the edges of his hoodie to hold it closed around me.
"Yeah," I mumbled, smiling. "Thanks."
Edward just reached out to hold my free my hand in response, then picked up our bags and started towards the hotel's main entrance, clearly anxious to get inside.
"Where are the others?" I wondered as Edward nodded in thanks to the doorman, who held the door open for us on our way in.
"They're probably already settling in to their rooms," Edward replied, shrugging as we made our way over to the check-in desk. "They have their own suite on one of the top floors, so I doubt it'll take them long."
"Huh." I tried to keep my expression neutral, but knew I'd probably failed.
"Hi, there." I startled slightly at the sound of a woman's voice from behind the desk, not having realized how close we were to it until then. "You must be Mr. Masen?"
Edward's hand tensed slightly beneath mine, and he forced a smile. "Yes. You should have the honeymoon suite reserved for me and my wife?"
"Your wife?" She sounded as shocked as I felt. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Let me just double check that for you."
Cheeks flaming red, she turned to her computer and clicked on something I couldn't see. I used the temporary distraction to my advantage, and turned to face Edward, raising one eyebrow. He smirked, then winked at me. I shook my head in disbelief and turned back to the hotel clerk – Kelly, I realized from her name tag - who didn't appear to have noticed our little exchange.
"Okay, you're all checked in," she said brightly, her smile fading slightly as Edward moved closer and slid his arm around my waist. "You're up in suite 6014…" She reached forward for something on her desk, then handed Edward an envelope with 6014 scribbled on the front of it. "There's your room key and an information leaflet with the numbers for room service and the hotel menu on it for you. It says on the booking that the length of your stay is undefined for now, is that correct?"
"Yes," I replied before Edward had the chance to. "We're here on a business trip with Marcus O'Bryant?"
The look on Kelly's face was almost comical.
"Oh, um… Certainly." She typed something on her keyboard, clearly flustered by the news, then smiled extra brightly as she got out of her seat and began to move round the desk. "I'll get the porter to carry your-"
"No need," I quickly told her, maybe a little too firmly. I forced myself to smile back at her, then turned to Edward as I said, "We don't mind taking them, do we, honey?"
"Not at all," he replied, masking his confusion well.
"Oh, well, uh…" Kelly obviously wasn't used to people voluntarily doing things for themselves. "Don't be afraid to call down if you need anything. Anything at all."
"We will." Edward smiled kindly at her, and I grimaced as another wave of nausea hit me before picking up our bags and taking his hand in mine.
"Let's go," I told him, then began tugging him towards the elevators as fast as I could, trying as hard as I could to ignore the overwhelming sickness that had suddenly taken over my body. He protested at first, obviously confused, but quickly gave in after one particularly strong tug.
"What the fuck was that?" he hissed as I reached forwards and pressed the call button for the elevator.
"I thought I was going to be sick," I told him, trying to breathe through it.
"Bella, come on. She was just trying to be nice," he chided, shaking his head as the elevator doors opened.
"No," I groaned, stepping inside the elevator. "I meant literally."
His eyes widened, and concern immediately took over his features. "Shit, baby, I'm-"
"It's fine," I assured him. "Floor 6, right?"
"Bella…" He gripped my wrist as I reached forward to press the button on the control panel, internally debating about which one to press.
"I mean, if we're in suite 6014, it makes sense for that to be on the sixth floor, right?" I frowned. "It's logical."
"Baby?"
"Did she say which floor we'd be on, or are we just meant to guess?" I wondered, trying to keep my mind occupied. "If she didn't say, well, that's just poor service, isn't it? What if I got lost trying to find my suite? I hope it's not one of those stupid hotels where the suites aren't actually in order. That happened in Canada once, and-"
He put his hand over my mouth to shut me up. "Bella, stop."
I looked up at him, instantly feeling guilty when I saw the worry etched on his face. He sighed softly, then pressed the button for level six before gently lowering my hand back down to my side.
"Sorry," I mumbled. "It's just… You know when you feel so ill all you actually want to do at times is curl up in a ball?" He nodded. "I feel like that, so I'm trying to distract myself, but babbling only gets you so far, you know?
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Would, um…" He moved closer, warmth radiating from his body as he lowered his head to my neck, making me shiver. "Would this help?"
"It didn't in the limo," I confessed. "But that doesn't mean I want you to stop."
He smiled sadly against my neck, kissed it softly, then raised his head again as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open.
"Come on," he murmured softly, taking my hand in his. "Let's get you somewhere more relaxing."
I nodded in agreement, and when he reached forward to take our bags from me, I didn't resist.
"Do you want to just talk?" he asked as he led me down a brightly light, warm-looking hallway towards our suite. "I mean, really talk?"
"Please," I replied, squeezing his hand. He smiled happily, then let go of me briefly to get out our room key before unlocking the door and allowing me to go in first.
"Oh, wow," I murmured as I flicked on the lights and took in the room.
The walls were cream colored, and although they were kind of plain, it made the beautiful red bedding (complete with rose petals) and drapes stand out even more than they would otherwise. It was a pretty big room in overall, and a door at the end of it led to what I assumed would be the en-suite bathroom. It was nicer than our suite at the compound, even though it wasn't as luxurious, and it made it feel more like we were on a romantic getaway than a business trip while undercover.
"God, we have a fucking window!" I gasped, automatically walking forwards and pushing back the curtains so I could look outside. I couldn't see too much, but that wasn't the point. I laughed. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see one."
"Mmm…" I shivered as Edward's hands slipped loosely round my waist and he pressed his body against mine from behind. "When we have our own house, we'll have lots of windows."
I knew our room wasn't bugged here, so what he'd said… I smiled widely and leaned back against him.
"We'd have to have a nice view," I told him softly. "Or else it'd be a waste of money."
I felt Edward smile as he gently kissed my neck.
"Sounds good to me," he murmured. I hummed contentedly and let my hands grip both of his, pulling his arms tighter round me. I knew he was just being careful because I felt sick, but it wasn't so bad anymore.
"Where did you grow up, Bella?" Edward asked softly after a few seconds.
"The middle of Buttfuck, Nowhere," I replied, shrugging.
"Really?" He laughed quietly, shaking his head. I rolled my eyes, cracking a smile of my own.
"No, I lived in a really tiny town named Forks in Washington until I was 4, I think, then we lived in Arizona for a while until my mom…"
Edward nodded sadly in understanding. "I'm sorry."
"It was a long time ago." That didn't make it hurt any less, though, but I knew I didn't have to tell him that – he'd lived through a tragic loss too. "What about you?"
"I lived in Chicago until my parents got sucked in to this whole thing. Then we moved around a lot, which I always thought was really unfair because I couldn't play the piano since we had to leave our one behind." He laughed at himself, but it was a happy one.
"You play the piano?" I didn't know why that shocked me so much – his fingers would have been perfect to play the piano with.
"Played," he corrected, sounding a little sad. "It's been years, and I don't think I'd… My mom taught me how, and…"
"I used to knit," I told him softly. "My mom taught me, even though I was never very good and my hands were too small, but I stopped too after… After she died."
He sighed sadly and placed a lingering kiss against my neck.
"You, uh…" I cleared my throat awkwardly. "You should know that when we call Carlisle, he may not be willing to send anyone at first."
"Why not? If the extraction mission was planned out and author-" He stopped suddenly, and everything seemed to click into place for him. "He didn't authorize it."
"No," I admitted, suddenly nervous. I'd kept this from him from the start, and although I hadn't exactly lied to his face about it, I had lied by omission, and I was worried about his reaction. "When I was investigating Rosalie's disappearance with Emmett, I looked into some old case files and your name popped up. Carlisle had pretty much told me he wouldn't authorize any mission into the compound, and he wouldn't offer help to plan it if we went against him. It was too dangerous, he claimed. Anyway, Emmett and I… We planned this from scratch. Carlisle didn't know about it until after it was too late to get me back."
"How did you… How did you know so much about things? About my brief, about the cover…"
"I asked him," I told him. "Well, I guess it was more of a confrontation, but my name was in the case file, so I demanded answers, and he gave them. Hesitantly."
"Then why did you come?" he wondered.
I shrugged. "You and Rosalie needed help… So I came to get you."
He exhaled an unsteady breath, seeming almost awed by the news.
"I didn't know just how long you'd been in there, Edward, but I knew it had to be at least a while. I don't know why Carlisle… I don't know why he didn't send me anyway."
"He probably thinks I've turned on him as revenge for him forgetting about me," he murmured, sounding a bit disbelieving.
"How could anyone forget you?" I sighed, not really meaning for him to hear me. Edward smiled, then nuzzled my neck.
"So, when Carlisle says no to sending people out…"
"If Carlisle says no, I'll cash in a favor," I replied. "He owes me."
"Bella…" He sounded doubtful. I turned in his arms and smiled reassuringly, bringing my hands up to cup his face.
"Edward, it will be fine," I told him. "This… thing that he owes me… It's huge. He will send people for us once I remind him of that fact."
"I-"
I exhaled an unsteady breath.
"Come sit with me?" I murmured, steeling myself for what was to come. He nodded immediately, frowning, then allowed me to lead him over to the bed, where I sat down and turned to face him, crossing my legs in front of me.
"When I was seventeen, my dad said goodbye to me one morning, and it different, somehow… He told me he loved me, kissed the top of my head, then hugged me really tight. He wasn't a hug person, but… I don't know. It just felt off, you know?" I stared down at my hands, which had begun to fiddle and tear one of the rose petals on the bed. "Alice was throwing a party that evening, and he promised he'd give me a lift, so I got ready and made dinner for us both, but seven came and went, and there was still no sign of him. I worried, of course, but he was late sometimes anyway, so I promised myself I wouldn't panic until it got to half seven with no contact from him.
"At twenty-five past, the door opened, and I was laughing at myself for worrying as I came out the kitchen to find him, but… My dad's partner, Billy, he was standing there, all shaken up, and he looked at me and I just…" I shook my head. "He wasn't dead yet, but it wasn't looking good."
Tears rushed to my eyes, but I just kept focusing on the petal in my hands. "Billy told me to pack some stuff I'd need, and then he'd take me. I thought he meant to the hospital, so I rushed, but we just… went to some stupid safehouse nearby. I overheard him talking to Carlisle, arguing with him because he'd been ordered not to let me see my dad."
Edward inhaled sharply, gently reaching out to take my hand. I held on tightly.
"I snuck out the back window," I told him. "I drove to the hospital, found him, and…" I paused, trying to compose myself even as the vivid emotions flooded back to me. "He was on a ventilator. He'd been shot. Real bad. They said he was lucky to even make it through the surgery, and they weren't hopeful." My voice cracked as I spoke, tears running freely down my face now.
"I climbed into bed with him, I hugged him tight, and I told him I loved him. And then… It could only have been a minute later when I heard his heart stop beating in his chest, right below my ear. They, uh…" I swallowed hard. "They didn't do anything. They just let him die. Carlisle let them know my dad wouldn't want to be on life support, and there was probably nothing they could have done anyway, but they didn't even seem to try."
"Bella…"
I looked up and smiled sadly at him, then sighed softly when he reached out and cupped my cheek, moving my own hand up to grip his.
"I think my dad held on just long enough for me to be there," I told him. "But if Carlisle had let Billy take me sooner, straight after it happened, I could have had hours with him, not just minutes. If Carlisle had had his way, my dad would have died alone. And, if he hadn't have ordered him out there in the first place…" I shook my head. "He owes me."
"I am so sorry, Bella," Edward murmured, looking truly sad. "I'm so sorry."
I smiled, squeezing his hand. "It's okay. I came to terms with what happened a long time ago. It's why I'm here, in The Agency, going on missions… getting you. You'd probably be trapped here for the rest of your life if I hadn't come for you. And now… I know that, no matter what happens, it will be worth it. Even if we die… At least we won't do it alone."
Edward smiled sadly, then leaned forwards and pressed his lips to mine. It was a kiss of sadness, of gratitude, of loss… So much emotion was conveyed in that one kiss, emotion I didn't have the words to describe, and when he carefully pulled me towards his lap afterwards, I didn't resist. Instead, I curled myself around him as tightly as I could and buried my face in his neck, trying to soak him in.
"I'll be the one to make the phonecall," he murmured after a while, gently stroking my back as he let me recover. "I'll place my bid, and if he doesn't give in, we'll bring out our bargaining chips. He owes us both."
I nodded in agreement, then kissed his neck a few times before raising my head and pressing my lips to his. "I'm sorry I brought the tone of things down, but… what happened was- is a big part of who I am. And I want you to know me. Not some façade."
"I used to drive a Volvo," he told me. I frowned in confusion at the random comment. "My middle name is Anthony, my father's name was also Edward, and my mother's name was Elizabeth. I get my hair and eyes from my mom, but my nose and jaw from my dad. My favorite color right now is probably brown. The first thing I ever played on the piano was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, when I was about four. When I was younger, I wanted to be a doctor, but when my parents died and the doctors couldn't save them, I knew I'd never be able to deal with that first hand, so I came here instead because I wanted revenge, but when nobody came back for me, I began to give up. I'm glad I never got the chance to do it fully, because meeting you has been the best experience of my life." I smiled and blushed at the same time. "And I hope it gets to continue after we get out of here."
"God, so do I." I kissed him once, twice… He always knew what to say to make me feel better. "But in order for us to do that, we need to make that call."
He nodded in agreement. "You ready for this?"
"Nope," I replied truthfully as I climbed off his lap and he reached over for one of our bags to pull out the phone. "You?"
"Nope."
We both laughed, and Edward leaned forwards to give me a quick kiss before switching the phone on and waiting for it to load up.
"I'm nervous," I admitted, watching him type in the number for Carlisle's office.
"Me too," Edward murmured, taking my hand in his and smiling. "But just… think of our dream house, okay?"
"Our dream house?"
"Yup. How many bedrooms do you want?" he asked as he pressed the call button and held the phone up to his ear.
"Umm… Four?" I suggested. "I mean, it depends on how many ki-"
I cut myself off before I could embarrass myself too much.
"Be-" Edward began, then inhaled sharply when someone picked up on the other end of the line. "Hello?"
"Speakerphone?" I mouthed, gesturing to the phone. I couldn't hear a damn thing the other person was saying. Edward moved the phone from his ear, hit a button, and then the sound of Carlisle's assistant's voice – Zafrina, I vaguely remembered she was called – filled the room.
"… Contruction, speaking. How may I help you?"
"Hi, uh… I'm looking for Carlisle?"
"I'm sorry, there's no Carlisle registered in our system."
Edward rolled his eyes. "Okay, he may be registered under Mr. Cullen, then."
I heard the faint clicking of keys on a keyboard in the background. "Nope, I'm sorry. I have a Mr… Callone?"
I huffed, then realized Zafrina probably didn't recognize Edward's voice, so said, "Zafrina, tell Carlisle Cullen that Sierra and Mike are on the line and need to speak to him about Romeo and Juliet as soon as possible."
She went quiet for a moment. "Please hold."
Edward breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gratefully at me. I smiled weakly back, then shifted closer and loosely wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his shoulder.
Our conversation about our future had certainly thrown me for a bit of a loop. I knew how I felt about him, sure, but I still didn't know exactly what he felt for me. At first, I'd thought that maybe he just believed his feelings for me were genuine, but they were actually misplaced gratitude because I had come to save him and he needed someone to latch on to. But now… Now I knew it was so much more than that.
He wouldn't really be talking about our future together like he was unless he truly meant it, would he? He felt something for me, something real and tangible, and God… I loved him. I loved him. Fuck, it seemed so ridiculous to me, so foreign, but I knew it was the truth. And part of me wondered if he loved me too. I sure hoped he did.
I'd never really given much thought to my future like this before. It was always one job and then the next, taking it one day at a time. Back then, dreaming of having kids or a dog or a permanent place I could call home with a white picket fence and perfectly mowed lawns which out-shone the snobby neighbor's… I used to think that shit was pathetic and not even worth giving a second thought, but after this clusterfuck of a mission and meeting Edward… Let's just say that 'pathetic' dream was looking pretty good right about now.
"What you thinking about?"
I startled slightly at the sound of his voice, surprised to see him closing the phone and putting it down on the bed behind him. "Hmm?"
"You kinda spaced out there for a bit," he replied, turning his head in my direction.
"Oh, um… Sorry," I mumbled, sitting up so I could look at him better. "What happened to the call?"
"Zafrina said he's indisposed at the moment, but will call us back as soon as he can."
"Right…" I frowned, confused. "Maybe he's got company or something?"
"Maybe." Edward nodded noncommittally. I hummed quietly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I told him, moving back to put some space between us and smiling. "Nothing's wrong. I was just… I was just thinking."
"About?" he prompted, turning round to face me fully now.
"Nothing," I lied. "I was thinking about nothing."
"Why don't I believe you?" His brows furrowed briefly, but then understanding seemed to dawn on him. "Is this about… The number of bedroom thing, that… Yesterday, did I…"
"I don't-"
"It's not that I…" He sighed. "Bella, what I said yesterday, about us not planning on having children? That wasn't-"
"No, it's fine," I cut across, shrugging. "Seriously. You don't have to explain."
"I do," he countered, then moved closer and took my hands in his. "I do, because I upset you and hurt you and I was…" He shook his head in frustration. "I was an ass, okay, Bella? I wasn't thinking straight, and I spoke without considering the effects it would have on you."
"Edward…" I squeezed his hands and tried to pull him towards me, but he wouldn't allow me to.
"It's not that I don't want to have kids. I just… Now isn't the right time for that." He looked straight into my eyes. "One day… One day, we can. But not right now. Not when so much is at stake and our lives are not our own."
"I know," I assured him, smiling. "I over-reacted. I took it too personally, and I lashed out. I hurt you too."
"But-"
"I understand why we can't have kids right now. Believe me, I know. It's something we'd have to discuss in a lot of detail, and having children probably isn't on either of our agendas, so I get it, okay?" I shook my head and laughed softly. "I'm over it. It hurt at first, yes, but not anymore. It's for the greater good. Besides, Carlisle would have both our heads and-"
"I don't care about what Carlisle thinks."
"We both know that's not true," I replied softly. "Listen, it's just a dream house, right? We only need one bedroom for us to sleep in for now, and if you ever want to discuss having ch-"
"Edward?" There was a loud knocking on the door. "It's Marcus. You ready to go down?"
"Fuck," Edward hissed, clamping his eyes shut for a moment. "The meeting. I forgot."
"It's okay, baby. Go," I told him softly, squeezing his hands. "He needs you."
"But-"
"I'll handle the phone call, don't worry," I promised. "I'll tell you everything when you get back."
"Bella…" He trailed off, then shook his head, obviously frustrated. "I'll be right back, okay?"
I nodded happily and smiled at him, both glad and annoyed about Marcus' interruption.
"Don't go anywhere," he teased, then kissed me softly before reluctantly climbing out of bed and heading for the door. "Oh, and Bella?"
I turned round to face him. "Yeah?"
"This conversation isn't over."
With that, he was gone.
I sat there in stunned silence for a moment, staring at the closed door he'd left through. He really wanted to talk about things, I realized. This conversation… Whatever he wanted to say… It was important to him. Why did that make me so happy inside?
Shaking myself from my stupor, I picked up the phone from the bed and slipped it in my pocket, not wanting to risk losing it in case Carlisle called back before Edward was finished talking to Marcus. I felt oddly… light after revealing everything to Edward, and his reaction… Well, he'd taken everything better than I probably would have in his position.
Since I had nothing to do until the call came through or Edward was back, I decided to unpack all our things and try and settle in as much as possible. The clothes were easy enough to put away since we'd both packed light, but then I realized the bag from the gas station still had something in it, and gasped when I saw what it was.
A bottle of lube.
That sneaky fucker.
Shaking my head and chuckling under my breath, I took the bottle out the bag and placed it on the bedside table, planning on asking him about it later. I hovered beside the bed for a few moments, at a loss for what to do, then decided I may as well watch some TV if there was anything on. Why they'd have a TV in a honeymoon suite though, I had no idea. Maybe newlyweds got bored of each other a while? Or maybe they were no good in bed. Poor fuckers.
I laughed out loud. Fuckers.
I had a really weird sense of humor.
Since the rose petals were pointless and kind of irritating, I swept them all onto the floor and climbed into bed, reaching for the remote on the bedside table before switching the TV on and flicking through the channels for something decent. News, News, Prison Break, Grey's Anatomy, Sports… I flicked back a few channels. Prison Break? Why not? It fitted.
I put the remote on the bedside table again and pulled the phone out my pocket, placing it on top of the sheets for easy access in case it rang, then settled back against the pillows and started to watch.
Commercials came on what felt like only minutes later, and I groaned in frustration. I hated commercials. They were fucking pointless and irritating, just like the petals, and dragged on and on for fucking ever, so I closed my eyes and tried to wait them out.
It wasn't until I heard the hotel room door slam shut a while later I realized I'd accidentally fallen asleep.
"Shit!" I hissed, pushing myself up into a sitting position and scrambling for the phone. No missed calls. Thank God. I breathed out a sigh of relief, then startled slightly when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Edward.
"I'm so sorry," I blurted, horrified by my slip up. "I just… I was so tired and I got bored and nobody was calling, and I feel like total shit when the commercials came on TV, so I must have fallen asleep while I was-"
"I love you."
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