Chapter 45

a/n: I am sad to say that this is the last chapter that will be posted on this blog. I have moved my story over to The Writer's Coffee Shop's LIBRARY. www.twcslibrary.com

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Sorry again for the move but The writer's coffee shop just offers more than what a blog can offer.

Thanks for understanding

Mic xxx

p.s. thanks always to Lillie cullen for this chapter..

Edward POV

I was on my hands and knees rubbing with everything I had in me and cussing like a sailor when my mother came in from Emmett’s. I jumped when I felt her hand on my shoulder.

“Edward,” she asked, laughing, “what are you doing?”

I threw the sponge on the floor and sat on the sofa in defeat.

“Bella and I left ice cream in here and it melted onto the carpet,” I grumbled. I raked my sticky fingers through my hair then stared at my hand in disgust. “How the fuck do you clean this shit up? Is there some kind of magical voodoo spell you women use? All I’ve done is make the stain bigger.”

She laughed and put her arm around me. “It’s called carpet cleaner. I’ve got some in the utility room. Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it,” she assured me. “So what was the occasion?”

I grinned at her. “I’m sure Bella will want to tell you herself in the morning.” I hugged her and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry for the mess and I’ll have to buy you and Bella a new carton of ice cream.”

She looked at me thoughtfully. “You know about that, huh?”

“Yeah, I’ve actually known about the ice cream for quite a while.” I sighed and turned to look at her. “I’m trying, Mom. I love Bella and I only want to make her happy.”

“I’m so proud of you, Edward,” she said. She put her arm around my shoulders and hugged me. “You’ve come so far in such a short time. As long as you always remember your love for Bella, I’m sure you’ll both be happy. Just remember to think of her as a person with thoughts and feelings of her own. Remember they may not always coincide with yours, but there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ll find your own way together to do what makes you both happy.” She hugged me again and stood. “Why don’t you go on up and I’ll take care of this. Your father should be home soon. I want to have this finished before he gets here.”

I stood and kissed her ‘good night’. “Thanks Mom. I didn’t want him to find the mess and blame you.”

**

I turned off the bathroom light and slipped quietly back into bed. My hair was still damp from my shower. I propped up on my elbow so I could watch Bella sleep. She was on her stomach, facing me, her hair in wild disarray around her head and shoulders. She was beautiful. I let my gaze wander over the smooth line of her bare back as it disappeared beneath the sheet resting against the small of her back. I brushed her hair back so I could see her face. Her lush lips were parted and I could hear the steady rhythm of her breathing.

I smiled remembering our evening. She said ‘yes’. I knew she would. We were destined to be together. I knew it the moment I saw her picture. Being with her only solidified my feelings. I really loved her now. I understand the difference in what I felt before; extreme lust, and what I feel now. But better than hearing Bella say ‘yes’ to my proposal, was hearing her say ‘I love you’ for the very first time. Nothing could compare to hearing those magical three words come from the mouth of my beautiful angel. I’ve been waiting months to hear them. It made tonight absolutely perfect. Then the way our evening ended…God, there aren’t words to describe how I feel about that. Making love with Bella was so much more than I ever imagined. I’ve had sex before, but I’ve never made love. I never knew there was a difference.

God, what a fool I’ve been, always so smug and confident in my own intellect, thinking I knew everything. I had my life planned out perfectly; medical school, become a doctor, marriage, and children. I would still have all of this, but it would be filled with love now; real love. I leaned down to kiss her bare shoulder then rubbed my thumb over the diamond ring on her left hand beside me. I closed my eyes and let myself drift back into sleep.

My dreams took me to visions of our future. There would be love and laughter in our home; not the somber atmosphere I had grown up with. I could envision Bella running around being carefree chasing after our sons. I smiled at the imagery. Then my dream shifted and into my vision came a little girl about five years old. She had soft brown pigtails and big brown eyes, a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her little nose. She was wearing a white sundress with watermelon slices for the collar and pockets. I knew her; she was my Bella. And the boys she was chasing were me and my brothers and James.

She was running after the boys, begging them to wait up for her. The boys were laughing at her, knowing she wouldn’t be able to catch up. She tripped over her shoelace and fell to her hands and knees on the ground. The youngest boy stopped and stomped back to her, angry. She was sitting on the ground crying.

“Look what you did, you little brat,” he growled. “You’re all dirty now. I told you to keep your butt at home.”

He yanked her up by her arm and slapped her. She started crying harder, rubbing her red cheek. I could see a smear of blood that must have come from her scraped hand.

“Jamie, please,” she cried, “don’t be mad. I’m sorry. I just want to play, too.”

She tried to hug him as the other boys came up to stand around them, but he shoved her away from him, causing her to fall again. He laughed at her on the ground.

“You’re such a crybaby. I’ll give you something to cry about.” He turned to the other boys and grinned. “Hey guys, watch this. This is the only fun part of having a little sister.”

He sat on the ground and pulled the little Bella over his legs. He yanked her dress up and pulled down her cotton panties. I noticed they had little pink and yellow flowers all over them.

“James, its fine,” the younger me said. “She can play.”

“No she can’t, she’s just a stupid girl,” Emmett was saying.

“Yeah, no girls allowed,” Jasper agreed.

James raised his hand to begin spanking her. She was crying and squirming around trying to get away, begging him not to spank her again. She looked up at me with those large brown eyes full of tears, begging me to save her.

“James, leave her alone. It’s her birthday,” I said as I grabbed his wrist, standing over him. I pulled her up from his lap and pushed her behind me as James scrambled to his feet to face me.

“She’s my sister and I can spank her anytime I want. Just ask my dad. He watched me spank her this morning too,” he said smugly. “You’re just jealous ‘cause you don’t get to spank her.” He eyed me speculatively. “You can if you want. I don’t care,” he shrugged.

I turned to look at her cowering behind me. She looked up at me in fear that I would take him up on his offer. Tears were streaming down her face and her bottom lip was quivering. I smiled reassuringly at her and put my arm over her shoulders. I turned back to James and shrugged in return.

“Nah, maybe later.” I turned to my brothers. “Y’all go on. I’m gonna take Isabella home to make sure she doesn’t follow us again.”

“Whatever dude. Come on James,” Emmett said, turning and walking away.

“Wuss.” Jasper just rolled his eyes at me and followed Emmett.

James glared at Bella again before stomping off. I stood there until they disappeared beyond the trees then turned back to look down at the little girl in front of me. She looked up at me, sniffing and rubbing her runny nose with the back of her hand, smearing dirt on her face. She was such a mess.

“Are you going to spank me?” she whispered.

“Nah, you’re okay,” I answered, grinning down at her. “But we do need to get you cleaned up though before you get in trouble.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to play. Jamie never lets me play.”

I squatted down in front of her. “Come on, hop on. I’ll give you a piggyback ride to the house.”

“Really?” she squealed. She ran behind me and climbed up on my back.

“Hang on tight,” I laughed as she wrapped her arms around my neck and I grabbed hold of her legs. “I’m a wild horse and I buck. I can’t be tamed.”

She laughed and screamed as I ran us back to the house. I would spin around and jump acting like a fool because it made her happy. We got back to the house and I took her in the bathroom, avoiding our parents so she wouldn’t get in trouble, and set her on the counter. I used a washcloth to clean up her face and then doctored the scrapes on her hands and knees. The antiseptic stung her cuts and I blew on them to ease the sting.

“Will you kiss it?” she asked. “Momma always kisses it to make it better.”

“Sure, okay,” I shrugged. I kissed both her knees and then the palms of her hands. I leaned in and kissed her cheek that James had slapped, too. “Better?” I asked.

She nodded her head and hugged me. I took her back outside and pushed her on her swing set. I listened to her talk about her princess birthday cake her mom bought for tonight and the cookies she helped her mom make. I heard our mothers call us in to dinner and helped her out of the swing. She took my hand and pulled me down to squat in front of her.

“Can I tell you a secret?” she asked. She cupped her hand to my ear and whispered, “I know what I’m gonna wish for when I blow out my candles. I’m gonna marry you when I grow up.” She then quickly hugged me and kissed my cheek before running away from me toward the house.

I watched her run to the house and slowly followed after. I rubbed my offended cheek from her sloppy kiss. I was surprised to see my father sitting on the patio steps talking to Isabella. She was standing between his knees showing him the scrapes on her hands and knees. He wasn’t even aware I was there. His full attention devoted to Isabella.

“Edward made them all better,” she was saying.

“He sure did, Princess,” my father said. “Can I give them some extra love to help them heal faster?”

I saw her nod and hold out her hands to him. I was stunned to see my father being so loving and gentle with her. He kissed each of her hands and then wrapped her in his arms in a hug. He was never like this with us.

“Now, what would you like more than anything for your birthday?” he asked. “Would you like Uncle Carlisle to get you a pony?”

She shook her head and leaned to whisper in his ear. He listened and I saw the grin spread on his face. He looked up to see me standing there then looked back at Bella. He kissed her forehead then winked at me.

“If you promise to always be my princess, I’ll make sure you get your wish,” he told her. “Now, give Uncle Carlisle a big kiss and let’s go blow out those candles.”

She gave my father a kiss on his cheek and I watched as my father swung her up in the air as he stood. He carried her into the house on his shoulders as she laughed.

I woke from my dream and lay there staring at the ceiling and smiled. Bella got her wish. Who would have thought a little girl’s birthday wish would come to fruition all these years later? I wonder if she even remembered that birthday. We never talked about her childhood before Phoenix. I didn’t think she had many happy memories from that time based on what I remembered about James’ treatment of her.

Then I thought about my father’s role in this. He knew Bella’s childish wish and here she was, my fiancé. I wonder if he remembered that birthday wish when he sent me her picture. Thinking about my father’s behavior in my dream, it seemed my father always had a soft spot for Bella? As I dug through my memories, nothing else really stood out in my mind. I certainly didn’t remember anything bad in the way he treated her. If anything, what interactions I did remember, he always called her princess and tried to spoil her when she was with us. I smiled and closed my eyes to drift back into sleep. Maybe I’ll remind him of this when we tell him tomorrow. She used to be his princess, but she was mine now.