Chapter 5

I awoke frozen in fear and drenched in sweat. I glanced at the clock and groaned when I realized I had only gotten three hours of sleep. I was hoping to avoid the nightmares tonight. My night had been amazing. Bella accepted my mother’s ring and was now my fiancée. My life seemed to be coming together. I couldn’t understand why my dreams wouldn’t settle.

I pulled Bella’s sleeping form closer to me. I buried my face in her hair and breathed in her intoxicating scent. I wasn’t able to go back to sleep but relaxed having Bella safe in my arms.

Detective Aro called later that morning. The police had investigated James further and found his accomplice’s name was Victoria Anderson. Charlie had been sent all of the information they had gathered on her. The Forks police couldn’t find any trace of her in town, and the Portland police were also keeping an eye out for her. Detective Aro had a gut feeling that Victoria wouldn’t let this go. James was extremely disturbed, and they were assuming she was the same.

I left Bella with Emmett and Jasper while I went furniture shopping with Esme. Hopefully Emmett wouldn’t tease her too much while I was gone.

“Edward, do you have a list of what is needed?”

“Yes. We need a living room set, a new bedroom set, and a dining set. We’ll have a second bedroom, so I would like to get a nice queen sized bed for it and a desk. It’ll serve as our guest room and office.”

Esme smiled and grabbed her purse. I gave Bella a quick kiss and headed out the door.

“Mom, thanks so much for your help yesterday. The picnic was perfect. Bella loved everything.”

“It was my pleasure, dear. I love Bella like my own daughter. I’m so glad you found her.” Esme grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“Would you please try to help me keep Alice under control? I saw the look in her eye last night when we got back to the house. Bella won’t want a huge, elaborate wedding. She’s been dreaming of a simple ceremony in the meadow with our family and closest friends.”

Esme gasped. “That sounds absolutely perfect. I’ll have a talk with Alice. This is Bella’s big day, and she’ll have complete control over all the details.”

Esme and I had a wonderful time shopping. Her talent for interior decorating was unbelievable. We ended up with a microfiber plush sofa and loveseat with overstuffed arms. They were a nice deep brown color. We purchased a coffee table and two end tables that had a chocolate cherry finish. The coffee table had a mocha leather top. The set was simple, yet elegant. I had a feeling Bella would love it. The dining room set was a simple pedestal round table with a merlot finish. The chairs had the same merlot finish and cream colored upholstered seats.

We chose a king size bed. The headboard and footboard were a cognac finished wood with ornate metal accents between the wood posts. The set included two night stands, a dresser with a mirror, and a chest. We purchased a simple navy comforter and sheet set. I was thankful Bella wasn’t a frilly kind of girl. I could keep things simple and she would love it.

We selected a simple queen bed with a simple headboard. The desk was just as simple. There was no need to have anything elaborate in there. We didn’t expect many guests but wanted to at least have a bed available just in case.

I perked up when we got to the electronics. I took my time and chose a top of the line 47-inch flat screen LCD TV and surround sound system. I made sure to buy each of the top game systems. I wanted to be prepared if the guys wanted to play video games.

“Edward, do you really need three different game systems? That seems a bit much,” Esme scolded.

“Mom, it is necessary. The PS3 will play Blu-rays. That will eliminate a Blu-ray and DVD player. Plus, I love playing Guitar Hero on the PS3. The X-Box 360 is the only system I connect with the guys online and play. The Nintendo Wii is just fun to play.” I gave my mom the Cullen pout.

“Don’t even try the pout with me. I’m immune. I can’t believe you boys and your toys. How hard is it to find everything you need in one system? I still remember when all we had was a Nintendo. You boys played for hours with it.”

“Yes, Mom, in the dark ages there was only one real choice,” I answered sarcastically.

“Watch that tone, mister. I can still cancel the order for everything.”

“You wouldn’t do that to Bella,” I argued.

“No, I wouldn’t, but I would happily take back all of the electronics. I’m sure Bella would be happy without a TV.” Mom was sneaky. She knew Bella better than I thought.

“I’m sorry, Mom.” I gave her a big hug and kissed her cheek.

“You’re forgiven. Let’s get home. I need to get dinner started. Charlie and Tommy will be arriving shortly, and I don’t want them to have to wait for dinner.”

Bella ran into my arms when we got home. Emmett hadn’t teased her too bad while I was gone. We sat in the living room and I showed her the pictures of all the furniture I purchased. She loved all of it. We would be moving into the apartment on Friday, January 9. The furniture was scheduled to be delivered that afternoon between two and five.

Carlisle came in while we were looking over the furniture pictures.

“Bella, can I see you in my office, please. I would like to see how your injuries are healing.”

Bella looked at me with a shy expression. “Love, would you like me to be with you while Dad looks over your injuries?” She bit her bottom lip and slowly nodded her head. “Is that alright with you, Dad?”

“Of course it’s fine with me. You two will be married soon, and you will be a major part of any medical issues and decisions. No better time to start involving you than now.”

We followed Carlisle into his office and sat on the sofa. He sat next to her and examined her left hand. He asked her several questions about her pain. She seemed to be healing quite nicely. She wasn’t experiencing any pain, just that uncomfortable itch associated with wearing a cast. He repeated the process with her leg. Her cuts had all been healing fast. The shallower cuts were already healed, and a few of the deeper ones would be healed within the week.

“So, when can I get these uncomfortable casts removed?” Bella was whining. I knew she was miserable in the casts.

“It looks like your healing is staying on track. If nothing changes we’ll remove the cast from your wrist on January 5. Your leg needs a little longer to heal, so I plan on removing that on January 19.” Carlisle was making notes on a legal pad.

Bella’s face lit up at the news. “Thank you so much, Carlisle. I can’t wait to get rid of these things!” Carlisle gave Bella a hug and sent us on our way.

Charlie and Tommy showed up later that evening. Bella was elated. She loved them dearly and missed seeing them every day. Charlie took a week off from work so they were staying with us until the Sunday after Christmas.

Charlie gave Bella a big hug and kept his arm around her shoulders. “It’s good to see ya, kid.”

“I’m happy to see you too, old man,” she smirked.

“What’s that shiny thing on your finger?”

Bella’s face turned ghostly white. She was obviously worried about his reaction to our engagement. She reluctantly lifted her hand to him.

Charlie whistled. “That’s a damn fine ring you got there. Congratulations, baby.” Charlie gave Bella a kiss on the cheek and reached for my hand. “Welcome to the family, son.”

“Thanks, Charlie. It’s an honor to be joining your family.”

Bella looked confused. “Dad, I expected you to turn four shades of red and be upset. What am I missing here?”

“Well, Edward already asked for my blessing to marry you. I just kept waiting to hear that he finally asked you.”

Bella looked shocked. Did she honestly think I wouldn’t ask her father first? I loved her with all my heart and wanted to do everything right.

We spent the rest of the evening catching up. Emmett and Charlie had a blast telling dirty jokes back and forth. I never knew Charlie had it in him. Bella’s face was a permanent shade of pink all night.

Tommy wasn’t very good company. He spent most of the night talking and texting with Drew. I started to feel a little guilty for not inviting her but shook it off fast. Every time I thought about her being in my house I would get a horrible feeling of panic. I would rather have Tommy miserable with his separation than compromise the safety and comfort of Bella. I decided that Bella and I would sit down with Tommy tomorrow and talk more about Drew.

I woke up once again sweating and silently screaming. My latest nightmare was especially unnerving. Bella and I were in the meadow on our wedding day, surrounded by our family. Bella looked beyond amazing in a simple white gown. She was about to say “I do” when she collapsed. Carlisle rushed to us to check on her. She didn’t have a pulse and wasn’t breathing. Carlisle and I were giving Bella CPR when James and Drew stepped out of the woods laughing.

“I told you that she would never belong to you. She will forever be mine,” James sneered.

I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck and choke the life out of him, but Bella was more important. I couldn’t leave her side. She had to come back to me.

Drew laughed and pulled James in for a disgusting kiss. “James, my love, our work here is done. Let’s go home and celebrate.”

“Beware, Edward. You are a curse to all women in your life. Your mother died in that accident. I have now taken Bella from you. Who will be next, Esme or Alice? Either way, they will both die soon just because you care about them.” James laughed menacingly and left the meadow with Drew wrapped in his arms.

“Bella, please don’t leave me. I can’t live without you, love,” I pleaded.

Carlisle stopped the chest compressions and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You need to let her go, son. There is nothing else we can do.”

I shoved his hand away from me and started doing the chest compressions myself. “NO! YOU CAN’T DIE. PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!”

That was when I woke up with tears streaming down my face. I spent the rest of the night holding Bella tightly. I refused to leave an inch of space between us. Every time I closed my eyes I saw her lifeless body cradled in my arms. My tears continued to flow. I couldn’t wait until Tuesday for my next session with Dr. Young. I wanted Bella to be present for it. I wanted her to hear my latest dream and know what Dr. Young had to say about it.

I started trailing kisses from Bella’s mouth to her ear around eight the next morning. Bella slowly stirred and smiled at me.

“I love that glorious smile. Did you sleep well, beautiful?” I continued kissing down her neck.

“I slept wonderfully. How about you? Did you get any sleep last night?” Bella lightly touched the dark circles under my eyes.

“I slept a little last night. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be sleeping all night soon enough. Are you hungry?” I kissed the tip of her nose.

“I’m starving. Let’s head downstairs and see if we can help Esme cook breakfast.”

We made it to the kitchen thirty minutes later. Esme was standing at the stove preparing an egg casserole and humming. No one else was up yet. Bella and I jumped in and quickly helped her finish breakfast. We had placed all the food on the table and were setting the juice out when everyone started stumbling into the kitchen.

“Morning, sleepy heads,” Esme teased. She was met with a mumbled chorus of, “Morning.”

We ate in silence. No one was quite awake yet. I kept glancing at Tommy. He seemed like a zombie. It looked like he would collapse at any minute. Bella and I pulled him into the music room when breakfast was over.

“What’s up, guys?” he yawned.

“We just wanted to talk to you about Drew. You two seem to be pretty serious,” Bella stated.

“B, we just started dating. We’re still getting to know each other. It’s hard to be away from her for a week. If I didn’t miss you two so much, I would’ve stayed home with her. Consider your selves lucky,” he teased.

“Have you met any of her family? I know you mentioned they all moved to Port Angeles together.” I figured it was time to get some info we could actually use.

“Yes, they all live in Port Angeles, but I haven’t met them. They’re always busy. We usually spend time at my house or out with friends.”

“Doesn’t that seem odd to you? You’ve been going out for quite a while now. You should’ve at least met her parents by now.” Bella was starting to worry.

“Look, I’m not worried about it. When things settle down, I will meet her family. Her parents travel a lot for business, and her older sister lives in Seattle. She hasn’t had a chance to visit Drew since they moved.” Tommy was getting very irritated at our questions.

“What’s her last name?” Bella asked, meekly.

“Her last name is Sinclair. Now, please drop it. We’re happy together, so you should be happy for us.” Tommy rolled his eyes and quickly left the room.

“Edward, I’m worried about him. He’s never talked to me like that before.” Bella’s eyes were full of tears she was holding back.

“I know, love. I am too. Let’s have Charlie check her out. Maybe we can set our minds at ease when he doesn’t find anything bad in her past.”

“That’s a great idea. Maybe he can call Mark, his deputy, and have it back before Christmas.”

We found Charlie and talked to him about Drew. He had only met her a few times and agreed that something wasn’t quite right with her. He called Mark and gave him all the information needed to run a background check. He said we should have it back sometime Tuesday.

Bella breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Charlie was on top of the Drew situation.

The rest of the day was spent playing board games and card games. Bella and I demolished everyone at pinochle. Emmett wiped us out in Monopoly. That boy could be a real estate mogul to rival Donald Trump. Maybe he had finally realized his true calling in life.

Monday passed quickly. Alice and Rose dragged Mom and Bella to the spa. The guys stayed home and just hung out. We were watching a Buffy marathon in the living room and eating pizza when Tommy ran out of the room with his cell phone ringing.

“Looks like the old ball and chain is calling. That girl calls and he drops everything.” Charlie rolled his eyes.

“There is nothing wrong with catering to your woman’s clingy needs, as long as he’s getting some. Otherwise, he is just whipped and that is sad.” Emmett could be so crass.

“Emmett, does Rose really like your caveman ways?” I questioned.

“Rosie loves everything about me,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

“Please, Em, I don’t need any mind-numbing mental images today.”

“You could benefit from a few educational mental images from Rose and me. I’m sure Bella could appreciate a thing or two I could teach you.” Charlie choked on his beer at Emmett’s comment.

“Emmett, could you please show a little respect? Charlie is Bella’s father.” I smacked him on the back of his head.

Tommy walked back into the room with a huge smile on his face. “Looks like someone had some pretty awesome phone sex,” Emmett laughed.

Tommy’s face turned bright red with anger. “Emmett, I think you need to lay off the teasing,” I whispered to him.

“Sorry, man. I’ll lay off. Are we cool?” Emmett offered his hand to Tommy.

“Yeah, we’re cool.” They shook hands and we started watching the TV again.

The girls looked relaxed and were glowing when they returned from the spa. I needed to make sure Bella spent more time there. The rest of the evening passed without any more teasing from Emmett. Tommy finally relaxed and had a good time with the family. It was good to see the old Tommy back. Drew only called three times throughout the evening. She was whining because she missed Tommy and was trying everything to get him to invite her over. He was insistent that this was family time and he would bring her the next time he came.

I shuddered when I heard him make that offer. It would be a cold day in hell before I would let her know where I lived. Tommy didn’t know that yet, but hopefully by tomorrow we would have some answers and be able to get him away from her.

I had another sleepless night. My dreams seemed to be rotating between James raping and killing Bella, Drew killing Tommy in the meadow, and our disastrous wedding in the meadow. Bella continued to talk in her sleep about marrying me. Hearing her glorious words as she slept made the lack of sleep well worth it.

The circles under my eyes seemed endless. Dr. Young would definitely have something to say about them. We checked in with Leah when we arrived at the office. My head was lying on Bella’s shoulder, my eyes were closed, and I was starting to drift off to sleep when Dr. Young opened her office door.

“Hello, Edward, Bella. It’s good to see both of you. I would like for Bella to sit in on this session if that’s fine with you, Edward.”

“No problem.” I grabbed Bella’s hand and escorted her into the office. We each sat in a chair in front of Dr. Young’s desk. I continued to hold Bella’s hand and rub circles on her palm.

Dr. Young sat in her chair and pulled out her legal pad and pen. “Edward, you have some pretty dark circles under your eyes. Have your nightmares gotten worse?” I nodded my head. “Would you care to tell me about them?”

I glanced at Bella, squeezed her hand, and started to tell both of them about the dream of the wedding. Bella had tears in her eyes by the time I finished. Dr. Young took several minutes to complete her notes once I was through talking.

“Edward, you do realize that James is dead and cannot harm you or Bella, right?” I nodded. “Edward, I think you have a problem dealing with trauma. You still haven’t fully recovered from the death of your parents. This recent trauma with James seems to have made it resurface. I’m also concerned about your feelings regarding Drew. You obviously don’t trust her. Why do you think that is?”

I once again squeezed Bella’s hand and then started rubbing the soothing circles on her palm. “Something just isn’t right with her. She claims to be Tommy’s girlfriend and in love with him, yet when he touches her she flinches. It’s a tiny flinch, but I still saw it every time. Why do you flinch when the person you love touches you? She seemed to not care for Bella. Every time she would talk to her or about her she would practically sneer her name. Bella noticed it too. She was uncomfortable around her the entire night.” I squeezed Bella’s hand.

“Edward, you obviously paid close attention to her that night. It sounds like your subconscious is reacting to your impression of Drew. The only way to get past these feelings is to get to know Drew. Until you truly know her you will continue to make assumptions about her.” Dr. Young wrote a few notes.

“I want you to make an effort to get to know Drew. I know this week is Christmas, so maybe next week you and Bella can make a trip to Forks and spend time with Tommy and Drew. Both of you need to give her the benefit of the doubt. Open up to her and see how she responds. Tension between both of you and Drew will only strain your relationship with Tommy. If nothing else, make an effort for him.”

“We can do that. I know I wouldn’t be able to stand it if Alice and Emmett didn’t like Bella. I would react the same way Tommy has.” Bella nodded her head in agreement.

“Bella, have you been having nightmares since James’s attack?” Bella looked at me hesitantly. I smiled at Bella and let her know it was fine to talk with Dr. Young.

“No. My nightmares have disappeared. I’ve never felt better. I sleep all night and have wonderful dreams. I don’t jump at every little sound. I didn’t know life could be this great.” Bella had a beautiful smile on her face.

“That’s great to hear, Bella. I hope that doesn’t change. If you ever need to talk, don’t hesitate to come to me.”

“I’ll remember that, thanks.”

“Edward, I’m amazed at the relationship you have with Bella. You two seem to rely on each other for strength. You opened up so much more today with Bella supporting you. Seeing her role in your life, I want you to spend the next week talking about your parents’ death with Bella. Tell her every detail you remember and how you felt after. If we can get past your issues surrounding their death, I feel we can move on to what is bothering you about James. Please don’t hold anything back when you talk to Bella. You need to be able to tell her everything, so you might as well start with this. When will you be going back to Forks?”

“Tommy and Charlie are going back on Sunday, so I figured we would head there sometime on Monday.”

“Good. I know Leah has you set up with your appointments for the next few weeks, but I want to adjust a few of them. Let’s move next week’s appointment to Monday at nine. I don’t want you to have to come back here once you get to Forks. The rest of your appointments should be fine.” Dr. Young led us to the door and held it open for us.

We changed my next appointment to Monday morning and headed home. The ride home was peaceful. A lot of the tension Bella had been feeling seemed to be gone. I grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. I was about to suggest going out for a nice dinner when her phone beeped. I wondered if it was Alice or Tommy sending her a text.

Bella’s face drained of all color when she read the text. “Bella, who was it? What’s wrong?” I pulled over to the side of the road and took the phone from her. I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

you will pay for what you did to james you bitch. i’m watching you.

That had to be from Victoria. I quickly checked the caller ID but was disappointed to find private caller. How did she get Bella’s number? We had all of our numbers changed when they couldn’t find Victoria. I wondered if she was a genius like James. If so, we could be in more danger than I originally thought.

“Bella, I promise she will not get anywhere near you. James didn’t get you, and I’ll be damned if she gets near you. You are safe with me, love.” I gently stoked her hair while I held her close.

Bella sniffed. “Is this ever going to end? It finally felt like my life was coming together. Why can’t the universe let me live in peace?”

“Bella, I swear to you that I will keep you safe. I will kill this Victoria if she comes near you. You are my life. No one will ever take you away from me.” I gently kissed her lips and pulled back onto the road.

I called Detective Aro as soon as we got home. He stopped by the house and looked at the message Bella received. He got our permission to have her phone records investigated. He was doubtful they would be able to find any information on the number, but they would try. He told us to be careful and call him anytime, day or night, if we get any more messages.

Bella was distant the rest of the evening. I knew my happiness was too good to last. I just hoped Victoria wasn’t as stealthy as James. Bella was finally over the whole ordeal with James. I loved watching her live life and actually love it. Victoria was going to send her back to being afraid of everything. That thought killed me.

Bella was restless all night, and I didn’t sleep at all. I was too worried about her. I wanted to be awake and alert if she needed me. The last thing she needed tonight was to be frightened by my nightmares.

Bella started tossing, restlessly. I pulled her closer to me and gently kissed her forehead. “Relax, love. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” I whispered. I softly hummed her song to her and most of her tension melted away.

I let out a frustrated sigh. “I will make you safe,” I promised my sleeping angel as I continued to keep watch over her. Sooner or later Victoria would mess up, and I would find her. I looked forward to the day I could see her face to face and end this mess once and for all.