Chapter 35

I stood up and stretched to get my body to relax. Edward just sat watching me with a goofy grin. I hadn't realized just how tense I was and worried about the calls I had needed to make until now that I had made them. I glanced at Edward before excusing myself to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me for a little privacy and walked to the vanity. I sat down and examined my face closely. The brown contacts I wore did a lot to cover my red irises which really pleased me. I felt normal in a weird way looking at myself. I grabbed a scrunchy out of the top drawer and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I smiled at myself and returned to find Edward laying across our bed listening to Debussy.

Using my new found speed, I leaped into the air and landing on all fours on top of him. The expression on Edwards surprised face was classic as he let out a yelp of shock. I couldn't help but laugh out loud as Edward quickly turned the tables and had me on my back, pinning me down on the bed. I felt so free and playful as the huge weight of the calls I had made had lifted off my shoulders. Edward held both of my hands above my head with one hand while he used the other to torture me with tickles... He couldn't control me long as my strength was too much for him. I never knew how ticklish Edward was until then... He was begging for mercy as Emmett charged through our bedroom door...

"Woah! Having fun Edward?" Emmett burst into hysterics at the sight of us... " How's it feel to be beaten by a little g-..." I snapped my head up to wink at Emmett, but he didn't finish his sentence as he turned tail and ran out the room.

"Gotta go love... I have something to do..." I giggled as I released Edward and dashed out the door after Emmett.

I ran downstairs looking for him but didn't see him anywhere. Esme shot me a puzzled look.

"Emmett... Where'd he go" I whispered, hoping he hadn't heard me.

Esme giggled and mouthed, "check his room..."

I winked at Esme and ran up to his room where Edward was waiting for me. He motioned to Rosalie and Emmett's bedroom door while smiling his crooked grin. I made my way to him quickly and gave him a kiss. I turned to the door and reached for the door knob only to find it locked. I glared at the door for a second and then looked at Edward.

What do I do now? What a chicken... I was so irritated as I spoke to Edward in thought so Emmett wouldn't hear.

He is in there alone right now... Rose is out fiddling with the cars... Edward raised one eyebrow and smiled deviously, I bet we could get Rose to coax him out of hiding... I don't think it would take much...

I suppressed a giggle, Lets go plead my case to Rose... Grabbing Edwards hand, I pulled him to the stairs, excited to talk to Rosalie.

As we reached the front door, Alice and Jasper met us smiling.

"Perfect plan sis!" Alice giggled as they walked with us to the garage.

Rosalie was standing over her car with the hood up tinkering when we walked in. She glanced up from the shiny gadgets under her hood as we approached.

"Whats up?" She asked as she turned her attention back to her car.

"Well..." Why did I feel so nervous all of a sudden? "Emmett was giving me and Edward a hard time a few minutes ago and has now locked himself in your room..." I smiled, "It's pay back time Rose... will you help me get him out of your room so I can mess with him a little?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes, "Emmett deserves everything you throw at him..." she grinned at me and then continued, "do you want him now, or should we let him cower in our room for awhile?"

"Cowering is good..." I winked at Rosalie, "Lets give him some time to think about it... I will taunt him from the family room while we wait!" I giggled as Rose nodded her head in agreement, smiling widely at our plan.

"I'll be about another half an hour... then believe me, he will fly out of our room without thinking about it..." I heard Rosalie laugh as we walked back to the house.

Edward, Alice, Jasper and I sat in the family room chatting quietly amongst ourselves to pass the time while we waited for Rosalie to work her magic. Every few minutes I would raise my voice a little and direct my words to Emmett...

I watched as Jasper got more and more amused by the emotions flooding down the stairs from Emmett.

"He is not fearing you Bella, it is more of a fear of embarrassment if you are stronger than him..." Jasper winked at Edward, "He knows he will never live that one down... not with all the crap he dishes out..."

"No doubt..." Edward sounded amused.

A few minutes later, Rosalie burst through the front door, "Emmett my pet... I need your help... I'm afraid I'm covered from head to toe in motor oil..." she glanced at me and grinned as she held out her finger to keep us quiet.

Edward squeezed my hand as Alice held up three fingers to count down Emmett's arrival... 3 – 2 – 1...

Emmett flew down the stairs to scoop Rosalie up but found himself in the center of 5 smiling vampires. Confusion clouded his face until I stepped forward and threw him over my shoulder and sweetly sang, "Gotcha!" I ran into the kitchen and sat him down on a kitchen chair at the table while Edward and Jasper stood on either side of him, insuring he couldn't bolt.

"Payback time Emmie..." I giggled. "Lets just see how 'little' I am you big brute!"

I walked to the other side of the table and sat down across from him. I glared at him for a second before plopping my elbow down on the table in between us with my hand in the air...

"Best 2 out of 3 big brother?" I challenged him with a coy grin.

Emmett rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, "whats the winner get?" he asked cautiously.

"Hhmmm... I don't know... bragging rights?"

Emmett shook his head, "how would it be bragging when we all know how much bigger and stronger I am than you..." we could all hear the playful annoyance in his voice.

"But my dear brother... I am a newborn... I am stronger than I look..." I giggled and taunted him by waving my hand at him, waiting patiently for him to take it.

Esme and Carlisle walked in, "we heard all the commotion and had to see what was going on..." Understanding swept across their faces instantly, "Oh... this should be good..." Carlisle added as Esme laughed quietly.

Emmett took in a huge breath of air and let it out slowly before bringing his elbow to the table to grab hold of my hand.

"To be fair, I will hold your hands and do the count down..." Carlisle stated.

Carlisle placed his hands on ours, "3, 2, 1... go!"

Emmett didn't know what hit him... I slammed his arm down on the table faster than he could blink.

"I-I wasn't ready..." Emmett stammered.

Edward burst out laughing at Emmett's response, "lame excuse Emmett!" he choked out.

I giggled as Emmett sat up straight in his chair repositioning his arm on the table while glaring at Edward. I leaned forward, grabbing his hand again. Carlisle placed his hand on ours again...

"3, 2, 1... go!"

I toyed with Emmett this time, letting him bend my arm down to a 45 degree angle before slamming his arm back down on the table.

Alice giggled, "Would you look at that Emmett... let me guess, you weren't ready again..."

Emmett looked mad now, he glared down at me now, "lets go again... squirt..."

I smiled as we got back into position again...

"3, 2, 1... go!"

I could see that Emmett was using all his strength now and knew that if Emmett was human his face would be the shade of a purple plum from all the straining he was doing. I kept our arms at ninety degree angles for a good minute before winking at him. I could see the frustration in his eyes as I then proceeded to blow him a kiss before slamming his arm back down on the table.

Emmett stood now, glaring at me, "Go ahead Bella... gloat... how about a rematch in a year or so..."

Esme reached out putting her hand on Emmett's arm, "Emmett, calm down... Did you really expect to beat a newborn?"

Emmett shrugged his shoulders and dropped his head, "she is just so small..." he glanced up at me, "and quite annoying today!" he winked at me playfully with a slight smile.

Jasper pulled Alice close to his side, "I learned long ago bro that big things come in small packages!" he leaned down and kissed the top of Alice's head as her musical laugh filled the room.

The months went by quickly. We had been testing my control with the human scent on a daily basis now. We made sure that there was quite a lot of distance between me and the humans to be safe, but the scent didn't stir anything in me. It really was quite repulsive to be honest. Edward and Carlisle wanted to be sure to keep me at a safe distance until I had passed my year mark and my newborn strength had diminished.

We were approaching my 11th month now and I was well in control of my instincts and feedings. I was only needing to hunt once every week and a half now. My eyes were now a golden honey after I hunted and I no longer needed contacts. Life was normal for me now. I rarely thought of my other life or my parents. I sent an occasional email but they were short and basically answered the questions that Renee and Charlie had asked in several previous emails. I missed them but knew that the time to cut them out of my life completely or to have a visit with them was fast approaching. They were both begging for a visit and I was running out of excuses.

I was in the middle of responding to several of Renee's emails when Edward walked into our room.

"Bella, is everything ok? You look so sad..." Edward was massaging my shoulders as he stood behind me.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking that it's time to either see my parents or cut them out of my life completely..." I couldn't help but just whisper my words... This was the only part of my choice in joining Edward for eternity that I struggled with.

"Bella, love... I cannot tell you what to do, but I will support you in your choice..." Edward leaned down and kissed my cheek lightly, "I love you."

I reached up with my hands, sliding them around the back of Edwards neck, "I know..."

I released him and finished up my email. Edward had grabbed a book and was now reading on the bed when I stood up.

"Lets talk options..." I said as I walked to the bed... I took in a deep breath, "We need to make a decision on how to proceed with my parents... I cant keep making up excuses on why they can't come see us or why we can't visit them... It isn't fair to them..."

"Well, you really have three options, love..." he moved to the edge of the bed in front of me and grabbed my hands, "one, you continue as you have been, avoiding them... two, we go for a quick visit next month..." he paused looking at me lovingly as he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "three... you fake your death..."

I tensed as his last option sunk in... If I chose to cut them out of my life, it would only be fair that they had some type of closure instead of always wondering where I was, how I was doing and if I was happy. I knew that no matter what my decision was, I needed to make sure my parents knew I was happy. I also knew that any decision I made was going to be painful for everyone involved.

It was time to decide...

"Edward... I am ready to..."

HA HA HA!!! Ok... I will be starting the sequel in the next day or so... I need to get some tax stuff done today for quarterly taxes so Uncle Sam doesn't impose hefty fines on our business this month... When I am done with that and a few loads of laundry I have yet to do from our trip, I will get on the new story... I will entitle it:

The beginning... the sequel to "My happy ending or is it the beginning?

It may be easier to find from my bio page...