Chapter 13

Bella and I had settled comfortably into our new apartment, and we were quickly getting into a daily routine. We both had a nine o’clock class every morning so we weren’t able to sleep in during the week. I was finished with my classes each day by two, but Bella wasn’t done until seven. She was overloaded with a full schedule of 18 hours while I scraped by this semester with only 13 hours. Carlisle didn’t mind me scaling down my hours. He wanted me to take time and make some progress with my therapy before I loaded my days down with too many classes. He tried to talk Bella into cutting back on a few of her hours, but she was too afraid of risking her scholarship and refused to take fewer hours than that.

My weekly therapy appointments were going great. Dr. Young and I had been talking at great length about my mother. She was impressed with my dedication to writing in my journals. It was not a big deal for me. It helped ease my mind when I wrote down my feelings and dreams. We finally made a break-through about my mother during my last session.

“Edward, I notice that every dream you have about your mother ends with you being unable to save her from death. Why do you think that is?” Dr. Young put down her pen and leaned back in her chair.

“I honestly don’t know. What confuses me is that I don’t dream about my father. He has never played a significant role in any of my dreams.”

“Mothers play an important role in all children’s lives. A bond is formed in the womb that is unlike any other bond you will ever have. This doesn’t make fathers any less important in a child’s life. Fathers offer security while a mother offers unconditional love. Edward, how close are you with Carlisle?”

I sat back and thought about that for a moment. I knew that I loved and respected Carlisle. I recognized his role as the head of the family, but I thought of him more like a big brother and best friend more than a father. “Carlisle and I are very close. He helps me think through my choices when I have a tough decision to make. I call him Dad out of respect for his role as the head of the family and my guardian. I’ve never really thought of him that way. He has always been more of a big brother or best friend to me.”

“Interesting. How do you feel about Esme?”

“I love her dearly. She was the next best thing to having my real mother growing up.” Tears started to form in my eyes, and I tried my best to hold them back.

“Edward, do you call her Mom?” I nodded my head. “Is it out of respect for her role as the matriarch of the family?”

Again I had to think about that. I had started out calling her Mom for the same reasons I called Carlisle Dad. One day it finally felt right to call her Mom. She was such a loving and nurturing person that I couldn’t imagine her never being a mother to me. I told Dr. Young this, and she smiled and nodded her head.

“I think I get it. Edward, I think you dream about your mother because you feel guilty about Esme’s role in your life. You have completely accepted her as your mother. Your conscience is torn up with guilt because you fear your mother will be hurt that you bestowed the title to Esme out of love, not respect. Remember the first dream you had after the incident with James that your mother appeared in?”

I thought for a few minutes and remembered that first disturbing dream. I was so happy with the conversation we were having until James popped in. My mother was proud of the man I had become and was ecstatic about Bella. It made me so happy to think my mother liked Bella and wanted me to marry her. I slowly nodded my head to Dr. Young. Then I remembered the last things my mother said to me before James appeared.

“I’m so glad the Cullens found you. I couldn’t have picked a better man and woman to raise you. We are so proud of you, son. You have grown up to be a fine young man.”

“She was happy I had the Cullens as parents.” Tears were streaming down my face.

Dr. Young had a huge smile on her face when I looked up at her.

“Yes, Edward. You should not worry so much about your mother. I think she would be upset with you if you didn’t love and respect Esme as a mother.”

I couldn’t believe the relief and joy I felt over this realization.

“Our time is up for today, Edward. You have made great progress. I’m still worried about the little amount of sleep you are getting. Hopefully this breakthrough with your mother will help you sleep more and have a few better dreams. I will see you next week at the same time.” I nodded my head and shook her hand before leaving.

Bella was excited and extremely proud when I told her about my break-through during my session with Dr. Young.

“Edward, this is huge. Maybe now you can relax and stop having nightmares about your mother.” Bella gave me a quick kiss on the lips and dove right into her homework.

I couldn’t explain the amount of joy it gave me to see Bella so happy and carefree. Since we moved into the apartment, there had been an extra bounce in her step and she was constantly smiling. Victoria hadn’t bothered us since she left her first gift. I wondered if she realized her slip about the Sinclairs and was regrouping.

That night I didn’t fall asleep right away. I was too busy thinking about Victoria. She was the only thing standing in my way of true happiness. Bella had been so caught up in her classes the past week that she didn’t have time for Victoria to cross her mind. Maybe it was a good idea for her to be overloaded with classes. She fell asleep within ten minutes of her head hitting the pillow every night this week. She hadn’t been restless or talked in her sleep once. It made me so happy to know she could shut down and escape the day like that.

I finally drifted to sleep. The last time I remembered looking at the clock it read 12:15. I didn’t dream that night. I fell into a peaceful oblivion and was surprised when the alarm went off the next morning. No dreams meant I actually got some much-needed rest.

“Wake up, beautiful,” I said to Bella as I kissed her ear.

“No, I want to stay in bed.” Bella turned onto her stomach and pulled her pillow over her head.

“Bella, it’s Friday. Finish your classes today and we have the entire weekend together.”

Bella slowly peeked her head from under her pillow. She smiled brightly when she looked at my face.

“You actually slept last night, didn’t you?”

“Yes I did.”

Bella threw herself into my arms and started peppering my face with kisses.

“I hope I sleep every night if I wake up to that reaction.” Bella laughed and lay back onto her pillow.

“Sorry, I’m just so happy that you got some rest.”

“I know, love. I’m happy too. Hopefully that will become a regular occurrence.”

We slowly worked our way out of bed and got ready for classes. I walked her to her first class like normal and had about fifteen minutes to kill before my class started. I sat down in the lobby of the science building and pulled out my dream journal. Students were rushing all around to make it to their classes, but I was too immersed in my writing to notice anyone in particular.

“My, my. No wonder innocent little Bella was more than happy to give it up to you, Eddie.”

I froze. I’d heard that voice before, but I couldn’t place who it was. I slowly looked up from my journal and gasped. Victoria was sitting in the chair across from me. “Victoria,” I whispered.

“It’s nice to see you recognize me. I guess little Miss Bayleigh did have a picture of me after all.”

My eyes grew wide. She didn’t call her Drew. Victoria actually used her real name. I decided to play dumb.

“Who?”

“Don’t underestimate me, Eddie. I know Bayleigh cracked. She told you everything about her, James, me, and the Sinclairs. I was hoping she would hold out a little longer. I honestly didn’t expect Tommy to get to her.” She was sitting back in the chair inspecting her nails while she spoke.

“How did you know?”

Victoria chuckled. “Eddie,” I winced every time she used that name. “Who do you think helped James with all of his surveillance? I was the one who planned everything. He just came up with the technology. I have Bayleigh totally wired. She would never be able to find everywhere I have her bugged.”

I was so thankful we never told Bayleigh where my parents lived. Victoria would’ve known the second Bayleigh did.

“I’m getting bored with this little cat and mouse game. I’m ready to have some real fun,” Victoria purred. She slowly stood up and stalked her way to my side and started running her finger up and down my arm. I swiped her hand away and quickly grabbed my bag and stood up.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t plan on letting you have any fun,” I spat.

“Eddie, don’t be such a downer. I have so many plans for you and little miss bitch,” she laughed. “Hell, I have plans for the whole family. I can’t wait to get my hands on everyone, including Mommy and Daddy. Daddy is rather yummy.”

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you anywhere near my family,” I hissed.

“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie,” she said, shaking her head back and forth. “You really are clueless. I sit back and watch you and your family every day. Following that joke of a sister and bonehead brother of yours is both part of my daily routine. I see them coming and going and know their routines. It’ll be so easy to snatch them up and keep them somewhere safe until I’m ready to play with them. Of course I’ve had the pleasure of watching that delicious father of yours in action at work. Your mother really is a lucky woman. I’m sure I could have lots of fun with him in front of her. That would be so enjoyable.”

I cringed at the thought of what Victoria had in mind for my family. I started to lunge for her when she placed her hand in the middle of my chest.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Eddie. We are starting to gather a crowd of witnesses. I don’t think you want everyone to see you strike a poor woman,” she said, batting her eyelashes.

I took a few steps back and looked around me. There was a crowd of about fifteen students watching our interaction. They were far enough away to not hear what we were saying, but our actions were enough to draw interest.

“This is far from over, Victoria. I won’t let you hurt my family.”

“You’re so much fun to play with, Eddie, because you’re so protective. I’m going to enjoy taking away your family one person at a time.”

Victoria slowly backed away while wiggling her fingers in a goodbye motion. I crumpled into the chair when she was out of sight.

The visit from Victoria screwed my plans of attending class for the day. There was no way I would be able to sit in a classroom and pay attention to a lecture. My mind was reeling from my conversation with Victoria. She was targeting my family. She’d been stalking all of us. Carlisle had seen the picture of Victoria, so he must not have seen her in the hospital. I needed to warn my entire family that she was stalking all of us.

The first person I called was Carlisle. The last thing we needed was her following him home and knowing where our safe haven was located.

“Hello, Edward. Shouldn’t you be in class right now?”

“Yes. I had a run in with Victoria before my first class.”

“Are you and Bella fine? Do I need to meet you in the ER?” Carlisle asked, panicked.

“No, Dad. We’re fine. Bella wasn’t there. I had already dropped her off at her first class.”

”She didn’t try to hurt you?”

“No. I was in the lobby of the science building surrounded by other students. I think she was just toying with me. I was disturbed by something she said. Dad, she’s seen you at work. She’s basically stalking all of us.”

Dad took in a deep breath. “Do you think your mother and I should see if there is anything new we can do to the security system?”

“I don’t think she knows where the house is. She didn’t mention anything about following Mom. Please just be careful going home. Keep an eye out and make sure you aren’t followed, and please keep the security system armed all the time. I’ll make sure all of us do the same here at school.”

“I will definitely do that. Edward, please call Detective Aro and fill him in on your conversation with Victoria. I think he would like to know that she is roaming the campus. Be careful, son. I have a feeling this will all be over soon.”

“I hope so. I’ll call you if I learn anything new.”

I felt better after talking to Carlisle. He would make sure to keep Mom safe. I called Detective Aro next. He decided to add a few more plain-clothes officers on campus to search for Victoria. He was extremely interested in the fact that she mentioned the Sinclairs again. They were anxious to settle that case once and for all and put that poor girl out of her misery.

I met Bella outside the door of her last class. She was surprised to see me since I normally met her at home.

“What a nice surprise,” she smirked.

“Hey, beautiful.” I pulled her into a tight hug and refused to let her go.

“Edward, what’s wrong? First you meet me after class, and then you don’t want to let me go. What happened?”

I pulled back and looked into Bella’s eyes. I still refused to let her go. “I ran into Victoria today.” Bella gasped. “Don’t worry, it was in a very public place. She actually approached me. Let’s head home and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Bella hung on every word I said as I recounted my run-in with Victoria. She seemed relieved that Detective Aro would be adding more officers to search for her.

We invited Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Em over for dinner and explained everything to them. It was decided that we wouldn’t roam the campus alone unless absolutely necessary, and we would stay in public places. Lots of witnesses meant that she couldn’t act. Everyone’s alarm systems were to be activated at all times. The motion sensors were to be activated when we slept and were away from our apartments. We all felt confident in our plan to stay safe.

Bella decided to call Tommy and let him know that Victoria knew everything after everyone left. She put her phone on speaker after dialing the number and started washing the dishes from dinner. The phone rang about three times before someone answered.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t little miss bitch.”

What the hell was Victoria doing with Tommy’s phone?