Ch 51 - See You Through

I know sometime I let you down
But I'm still getting used to having you around
And if I ever make you cry
There's nothing I won't do to make things right
I'm not perfect and that's for sure
A little time is all I'm asking for

“See Me Through” – Rascal Flatts

The rain was coming down hard, pounding on the roof of the car and obstructing my view of the road. Edward was speeding, driving entirely too fast for the conditions, but I wasn’t concerned. I trusted him.

It was early evening, the day after Thanksgiving. I didn’t have to work so we decided to spend some time with the Cullen’s before heading back to Seattle. I was emotionally spent after the situation at Charlie’s and wanted nothing more than to go home and forget it all, but I knew it meant a lot to Edward for us to be with his family. He had relocated to Seattle for me; the least I could do is give him some time in Forks.

It was nice hanging out with them, despite Rose’s coldness. But I was glad to be heading back home, just Edward and I. It felt like we never got enough time with just the two of us, with me working a lot and his family constantly popping into Seattle.

Edward pulled up in front of the apartment building when we arrived and glanced in the backseat. “I think there’s an umbrella in here somewhere,” he said. The rain was still coming down hard but I waved him off.

“I won’t melt,” I said. I counted to three and swung the door open, climbing out and slamming it behind me. I sprinted across the street and up the steps, tripping on the top one and stumbling but catching myself before I fell. I was completely drenched, my hair dripping and my clothes clinging to me. Edward came in behind me, rain spattered but definitely not as wet as me. He’d cheated and ran inhumanly fast, avoiding getting soaked. A drop ran from his hair down his face and I reached up to wipe it away. Edward smiled, leaning down and kissing me softly.

I turned to head up the stairs to the apartment, shivering lightly from the dampness. “Can you check the mail?” I asked Edward. He nodded, heading over to the boxes on the wall.

I got up to the apartment and unlocked the door, heading straight for the bathroom. I stripped my wet clothes off and grabbed a towel, drying my hair before wrapping it around me. I went to the bedroom and pulled some comfortable clothes out, throwing them on.

I walked back out and spotted Edward standing beside the table. He tossed a stack of mail down, holding onto a large white envelope. “What’s that?” I asked.

Edward glanced up at me. He held the envelope up and I squinted, trying to read it. “You need glasses,” Edward muttered. I rolled my eyes but didn’t argue… it seemed my years of straining my eyes in the dark, trying to read past bedtime, had finally caught up with me.

I noticed the purple and gold emblem on the side and my eyes widened. “Is that what I think it is?”

Edward smiled and nodded. “Acceptance Letter, with your name on it.”

I narrowed my eyes slightly. “How do you know it’s an acceptance? How do you know it’s not one of those ‘we regret to tell you that you suck too much to go here’ letters?”

Edward chuckled. “Because it’s thick Bella. Do you really think they’d waste that many trees sending you so much stuff if they weren’t interested in you?” He walked over and handed it to me, smiling. “Plus, it looks identical to mine and I surely didn’t get rejected.”

I rolled my eyes playfully. I eyed the envelope cautiously, turning it over to inspect it. I could tell Edward was fighting back laughter as he watched me. I timidly stuck my finger under the flap and pulled it open, being careful not to cut myself.

“Whatever happened to all of my stuff in Forks, anyway?” I asked, glancing up at Edward. Opening the envelope cautiously reminded me of the paper cut I got in Forks, and how everything they’d given me had disappeared along with Edward.

“What?” Edward asked, furrowing his brow.

“My stuff, the pictures and CD and stuff that you stole when you left. That was foul, by the way. You had no right to do that.”

Edward smiled sheepishly. “I know, I’m sorry. I thought it would make it easier on you. I didn’t actually take them though; they’re in your old bedroom in Charlie’s house still. I just hid them under the floorboard.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “You didn’t actually take them? I had them the whole time? You could’ve told me that sooner, you know, I’ve been in that house three times now. I could’ve gotten it.”

Edward shrugged. “Sorry, I didn’t really think about it honestly. But you’re stalling Bella. Open the envelope.”

I rolled my eyes and finished opening the thick white envelope. I hesitantly pulled out the papers inside. I glanced at the top one, scanning it quickly. My eyes fell upon the word ‘congratulations’ and I froze.

I glanced up at Edward and he was smiling brightly. I stared into his eyes for a moment before a huge smile overcame my face. I dropped the papers and darted for Edward, leaping at him. He grabbed a hold of me, pulling me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He laughed and squeezed me tightly.

“Thank you so much,” I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes and spilling over. I was so overcoming with emotion at that moment, so overwhelmed with gratitude and joy and adoration. I pulled my upper body back a bit so I could look into Edward’s eyes. They were shining with happiness. His smile faltered a bit when he saw I was crying.

“Oh, Bella,” he said softly. He brought a hand up and brushed my cheek, wiping my tears away. “You have no reason to thank me. You did it all on your own.”

I smiled and felt my cheeks pinken. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. He kissed me back sweetly, innocently.

After a moment I unwrapped my legs from his waist and Edward put me back down on my feet. I walked over and picked up my papers, which had scattered all over the floor. I plopped down on the couch and started looking through them.

Edward sat down beside me and opened his envelope. He started scanning through the papers also. I couldn’t help but smile—I truly felt like we were normal at that moment. We were simply boyfriend and girlfriend, about to head off to college together and start our lives.

“Have you decided on a major?” Edward asked after a moment. I smiled, nodding.

“English. Creative Writing, I think.”

Edward smiled. “I think you’ll like that.”

“What about you?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“Law,” he said with a smile.

My eyes widened with surprise. “Have you ever studied law before?”

Edward shook his head. “No, not yet.”

“Shouldn’t you go to like, Yale, if you want to go to Law School?”

Edward laughed. “Yeah, but you vetoed the Ivy League, Bella.” I smiled apologetically but he waved me off. “We can always transfer someday.”

I scoffed. “I’m not so sure I’d survive Yale, Edward. Plus it’s like $40,000 a year. I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to pay the $5000 for UW and then afford books and living expenses on top of that. There’s no way I’m going to be able to go to school full time and keep a full time job.”

Edward sighed loudly. I glanced at him and saw he was frowning. “Don’t worry about the money, Bella.”

I glared at him. “Don’t worry about money?!” I asked incredulously.

Edward’s eyes narrowed and darkened slightly. He was growing angry. “Can’t you let me do something for you just once? I mean this is important, why can’t you let me help you? We have plenty of money, that’s never an issue. There’s no reason for you to let that ever stop you from anything.”

“I don’t want your family’s money Edward, I don’t want to feel like I’m mooching off of them. Plus don’t you think you’ve done enough for me? I’m never going to be able to pay you back for the hundreds of thousands you shelled out for lawyers and my restitution and you want to throw thousands more at me on top of that?”

Edward shook his head. “Do you not understand, Bella, that they’re your family now too? Esme and Carlisle would be devastated if they ever heard you talk like that. They consider you just as much of a daughter as they do Alice and Rose. Christ, Bella, the only reason you don’t have personal access to the money is because you’d freak out. But I can guarantee that in Carlisle’s office there’s an American Express card and a debit card with your name on it. Money means nothing to us. And don’t be ridiculous, I’d never expect you or even want you to pay me back for the things I’ve done. Frankly I’d be insulted if you even tried.”

Edward’s tone and expression startled me. I looked away from him and glanced back down at my papers. “Does Carlisle really have a credit card with my name on it?” I asked softly after a moment, slightly shocked

“Yes. Alice saw you panicking though so Carlisle put it up until you’d be open to receiving it. Which I hope is soon. You want us to be equals Bella, you want us to be together, and that means what’s mine is yours. We can’t live our lives separate but equal, it doesn’t work that way.”

“But we wouldn’t be equal then. What would you be gaining? It would just be you giving and me taking.”

Edward shook his head. “What you give me Bella is worth a lot more than any amount of money.”

I didn’t respond. Edward phone rang and he sighed, pulling it out. He answered it and listened while the person on the other line rattled on. He thanked them and hung up.

“Alice said congratulations on getting into UW.”

I smiled, realizing she would’ve known about it well before I did. “I’m sorry,” I said after a moment. “I know I irritate you but it just scares me a little to have to depend on someone else.”

Edward nodded in understanding. “I get that, Bella, I really do. But I swear to you, I’m not going anywhere. We’re in this thing together.” He reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing. “And while we’re at it, I have something else to say. You’re probably not going to like this but we’re moving.”

My brow furrowed in confusion and I glared at Edward. “What do you mean we’re moving?”

“We’re going to move to a different apartment, somewhere better.”

“What’s wrong with my apartment?” I asked, feeling slightly insulted. It wasn’t perfect and I agree it was small, but it wasn’t horrible or anything.

“There’s nothing wrong with the apartment but the neighbors are vile. I can’t stand listening to them anymore, it’s difficult. I never said anything before but it’s getting to be too much.”

“What’s wrong with the neighbors?” I asked with surprise. I didn’t interact with any of them, really, but I’d never had any problems with them. They seemed nice enough.

Edward face twisted with fury. “I’ll just say that the man two doors down deserves to be locked away, never to see the light of day again. If I weren’t so dedicated to my lifestyle I’d slaughter him, just to spare the world his existence.”

I was taken back by Edward’s anger. I knew the man he was talking about, he was a balding white man who looked to be in his 40’s with big thick eyeglasses. He always seemed harmless but judging by Edward’s reaction, I’d say he was far from it.

“Okay,” I said softly. “We can move, I guess.”

Edward looked at me with surprise, obviously expecting me to argue more. And usually I would, but I was still too stunned over the entire situation.

We were quiet for a moment, both of us thinking. I laughed after awhile and Edward turned to me, wanting to know what was so funny.

“Charlie isn’t a big fan of lawyers. He used to always complain about arresting criminals only to have scumbag lawyers free them, making his job harder.”

Edward chuckled. “We’ll tell him I want to be a prosecutor, maybe that’ll win me some points.”

“Maybe. He invited us to Christmas, by the way.” Edward glanced at me with surprise.

“What do you mean he invited ‘us’?”

I smiled. “He asked me to come back for Christmas and told me to bring you along.”

Edward smiled lightly. “Well, then, I guess we’ll just have to go.”