I know everyone missed Edward.
Edward invited me to come to his mother's house on Saturday. I had an escort, who stayed outside in the car, or maybe he swept the ground for land mines. I don't know.
I was a little surprised to find that Esme and Carlisle had gone off for the day. I expected her to be there with us. I was thrown off guard at her absence, unsure of what Edward wanted from me.
We sat in the eat-in kitchen, and he offered me some of Esme's cookies. "She's been cooking and baking like crazy since I came home. I admit, I missed her food, but she's over taxing herself."
"It's how mothers show love. You are a skinny rail, so I bet she's fattening you up like Wilbur the pig for the county fair."
"Touché, Charlotte. I do need to gain weight." He sighed. "I don't really know how to be normal now. I don't even know what normal is. I just know that I have a soft bed, I can eat what I want when I want, and there's nobody else in the shower with me."
I shuddered at that mental image. "Well, compensation claims are a new thing, so it's not a guarantee.
That could help you out, but it would be a while."
"I don't want anything else from the state," he said bitterly.
"Well, they owe you big for fucking this up. All it took was for anybody at all to take another look at the DNA, instead of every single judge denying you that right. I've learned so much from that sample," I muttered.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"I've learned the answers to the world's problems." I let out a sigh. "My dad is the police commissioner, did I tell you that? He's taking care of it, and I'm staying out of it."
"You know I have no idea what you're talking about, right?"
"Yeah, we're gonna keep it that way."
"Okay, then." He frowned, but looked amused. "Are there volunteer positions at the Innocence Project that don't require a law degree?"
"Of course. There are researchers that help with the drudgery. Are you…"
"Thinking of helping out, yes. It seems like the right thing to do while I get my life sorted out. I can't sit around the house all day."
"That would be amazing, Edward." I beamed at him.
"Um, Bella." He swallowed, then cleared his throat. Then did it again.
"Are you okay?" I asked him, concerned at the way his face flushed.
"Yeah, I just don't know how to… would you, I mean, could we go and, I don't know, get something to
eat?" He ducked his head adorably, blushing harder.
"I- yes. Of course. As friends or…? I mean, I just want to know what you're looking for. I haven't done this in a very long time, and I don't want to make any assumptions-"
"Bella," he cut me off with a laugh.
"Sorry, I ramble. Yes. Now?"
"If you don't have any other plans," he amended.
I smiled so big my cheeks hurt. "Nope." Then I remembered 007 wandering around the Cullens' yard. "Oh, shit. I forgot."
His face changed from the boyish happiness he was sporting a minute ago, visibly falling.
"No! No, that's not what I meant. I just, oh Jesus." I closed my eyes briefly. "You remember seeing my brother the other day?"
He nodded, confusion marring his face.
"He's my brother, yes, but he's a cop. Like I said. Um." Now I was the nervous one, which was stupid. "I have a… thing. And there is a guy, right now, in your driveway. He drove me, and uh, he's going to have to come along," I finished like a lame duck.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
I closed my eyes to avoid his probing green stare, dropping my head and scrubbing it roughly. I snapped my head up as his chair scraped back, and there he was, kneeling in front of me.
"Is something wrong?" he asked seriously.
"Yes," I whispered. "But I don't want to burden you with it when you're just starting to get your life back."
"I wouldn't have asked you here if I didn't want to be at least friends. You know, I felt a… connection to you from the beginning. I thought you were foolish to come to me, to think you could help me." He brushed my hair out of my face, and I startled at the gentle touch. He smiled, and that alone was breathtaking. "I admit, I thought you were incredibly young and naive. I see now that I was the naive one. You're brilliant."
"No hero worship, Edward, just because I managed to free you; don't think that means you have any obligation."
He leaned forward, and I caught my breath as I watched his eyes. They deepened as his breath fanned across my cheek. I closed my eyes as he came so close I couldn't focus on his features anymore. I felt the soft pressure of his warm lips on the corner of my mouth. He pressed a kiss to the other corner before pulling away.
I blinked my eyes open, and he was sitting back on his heels. I felt confused, but my heart was beating double time.
"Does that feel like an obligation, Bella?"
I shook my head. I didn't trust my voice.
"Will you please tell me about the trouble you're having?" he asked me in the sexiest voice I'd ever heard.
"I," I breathed, then swallowed. He'd stirred me up. "I think someone is following me. So Daddy put a protective detail on me. He added the day shift, a Morgan Freeman to my Jessica Tandy. Except, I'm not a racist old coot. Anyway," I waved my hand as if to erase what I'd said. "I have to let him tag along, so think of him as our chaperone. But instead of watching us to make sure we don't do more than hold hands, he'll stay outside, wherever we go."
"Following you? If you've found some answers from the DNA sample, and someone is following you…"
"Yep," I nodded, knowing he'd put it together.
"It's because of me, isn't it? You're in danger, because of me."
My voice trembled when I answered, but I fought to even it out. "Quite a big ego, Mr. Cullen. The universe doesn't revolve around you."
"That's not funny," he said quietly, getting up and going to the kitchen window. I watched his back heave as he breathed heavily, apparently trying to come to terms with it.
"This crime, it should have been about the victim. Lauren Mallory didn't receive justice, that was merely a farce." He turned back around, eyes blazing. "It's been almost eleven years that I've lived with that name in my head, not knowing if I was at fault. I can't remember one detail past dancing with her. I was thinking I was glad I'd finally gotten out of the dorms, decided to live a little. I was always fucking studying." He shook his head, and I thought I saw the glint of tears. I stood, but didn't move any closer.
"You're a victim, too, Edward. You were drugged so you wouldn't remember, so you'd pass out on the couch and be an easy target. You suffered in prison, for heaven's sake!"
"That's too much to process, you know that? He's out there, apparently committing more crimes, and targeting you. All you did was try to help."
"Have you signed up for the counseling the county offers? I hear it really helps. There are support groups, too-"
"Is there a ten step program for the wrongly accused?" he interrupted bitterly.
I huffed. "Are we going to eat, or what?" I demanded. "This is too much heavy discussion on an empty stomach."
Face softening, he laughed, then held out his hand. There was a lot of me that tingled at his touch. I was looking forward to starting something new with him.
One of my pre-readers asked why I referred to it as 'his mother's house', and not his parents' house. Carlisle is still very estranged, and Bella just doesn't think of him when she thinks of Edward and Esme.
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