CHAPTER 20- Welcome to My World

EPOV—Six months later

She looked up and saw me staring. Before I could feel self-conscious, a bright grin flashed across her face and she waved at me. I waved back, and, to my intense embarrassment, and grin wider than hers appeared on my face.

Alice walked across the lawn and stopped when she reached where I was standing. She took one look at the smile on my face and one of her own appeared.

"I've missed that smile," she said, wrapping her arm around my waist. I hugged her back. "Glad you're back, bro."

I tore my gaze away from Bella and glanced down at her. "Right back at you, sis."

It had been half a year since Alice and I found Bella in Seattle. She had been attending a university there and working at a theater, doing relatively well for herself. Finding her and getting her back was the best thing I could remember happening in a long while. Bella finished up the year at the university and I finished up my tour. Every night, we would talk on the phone, happy to hear the other's voice. Now, finally, we were back at home in California. Bella spent every day with us, visiting Renée whenever she and her new husband, Phil, were in town.

I heard Bella let out a small shriek, and, quickly, my head shot up. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized it was just Emmett spraying her with the hose. Beside me, Alice giggled.

"Eddie's in love," she teased.

"That obvious?" I asked.

"Compared to how you usually are? Yes, it's obvious." There was a smirk on her face, but her eyes were full of sincerity.

"She really does bring out the best in us," I said with a smile. Then I looked down and shook my head. "I'm gonna kill Rose for taking her away from me."

Alice put her hand on my shoulder. "It doesn't matter now," she said. "Bella's back. That's what is important."

"Yeah, I know," I said. "Still..."

Alice let out a small laugh. "I know what you mean," she said. "I want revenge, but I don't want to hurt her either."

I finally turned so my entire body was facing my sister. I raised an eyebrow. "Who says we have to hurt her?"

The two of us were crouching behind a bush just beside the large front door of Rosalie's manor. I felt like a tourist with a star map, hoping to catch a quick glance at the person on the cover of the last issue of Seventeen. This was ridiculous.

I had just wanted to embarrass Rose just enough to make me feel better, but not so it would turn into a big scandal. This could be easily done by "accidentally" spilling water on her while on set or by taking an unflattering picture and giving it to the press. But no. Alice had to take it that extra step further and get revenge her way, which is why I am currently on my hands and knees, sneaking around Rose's house.

"Alice," I said wearily for about the seventh time. "What are you exactly planning on doing?"

"Hush," she replied. "You'll see when I figure it out."

I rolled my eyes. I was just like Alice to bring me all the way here without a plan. "Are you serious?" I asked. "You have no idea why I'm here instead of at home with Bella, where I should be?"

"No," she said. "I know what we're going to do. I just don't know how to do it."

I opened my mouth to ask the next obvious question, but before I could say anything, a long, black limo swiftly pulled out of the driveway and into the street. As soon as it disappeared around the corner of the street, Alice jumped up and swiftly walked around the house, careful not to be seen by anyone in the surrounding neighborhood.

I followed her, just as cautiously, around to the back of the house where the garden was.

"Go over there," Alice instructed, pointing over to the control for the garden maintenance. "The password for turning on the sprinklers is 4253. Then wait until I tell you to turn them on."

I typed the numbers in, then hovered my finger above the START button.

"She'll be out in a few minutes," Alice said. "Just wait."

The question of how she knew this was present in the back of my mind, but I learned long ago not to question anything Alice says.

The two of us sat there for four minutes when, sure enough, the back door of the house opened and Rosalie stepped out.

"How did you know?" I asked Alice.

"Jasper," she said as an answer. I nodded. Jasper, if anyone, would know Rosalie's every move.

I repositioned my finger on the button. Rosalie cautiously took a few steps forward, glancing around as if she were about to get caught in the act of doing something she wasn't supposed to. Evidently she didn't notice us because she continues walking further and further away from the house.

"Now," Alice whispered. I pressed the button and, instantaneously, the sprinklers turned on.

Right on cue, Rosalie's screech echoed through the air. Alice started laughing, and I joined her, though I felt this nagging guilt in the back of my mind.

Quickly, as planned, Rose was drenched from head to toe. She had been wearing some sort of fur coat that was now flat and her hair, which had previously been in curls, began to frizz. Rosalie spun around to face us at the sound of our laughter. The look on her face was incredulous, hurt, and, above all, murderous.

"How could you do this?" Rose shrieked, looking down at her ruined outfit.

"How could you force Bella to leave?" Alice asked between laughs.

Suddenly, Rose stopped examining her clothes. "Is that what this is about?" she murmured before looking up at me, ignoring Alice, "Edward, I...I honestly didn't mean for all of that to happen. I meant to say this a long, long time ago. Pride got in the way, but I really am truly sorry."

She looked sincere enough that I had to believe her. I knew apologies were hard for Rose, and, furthermore, no matter how good an actress she is, I could always see through her lies.

Still, she had caused pain to, not only me, but Alice and Bella as well. "I forgive you, Rose," I said. "But there are others I believe you owe apologies to as well." I inclined my head towards Alice.

"Alice?" Rosalie asked, as if asking for her permission to talk.

"Yes," Alice asked, no longer laughing.

"I'm sorry for the pain I have brought upon you." She sighed before continuing. "Honestly, I couldn't have imagined how close the two of you were—or are—to Bella. I've never...never, well, felt that bond before."

She was not looking for pity—that much I knew about Rosalie. Nevertheless, that is what she got from me. I could not imagine life without someone like Bella in it.

Alice looked at her, deliberating on whether or not to forgive her. Finally, she straightened up and relaxed. "All right," she said. "I guess we've gotten you back, and, no matter how childish it was, it made me feel better. So you're forgiven."

"Thanks," Rose said with a genuine smile.

"No problem," Alice said. "Now let's go inside and get you cleaned up."

Alice stared walking towards the back door, but, before she could get further than a couple steps, Rosalie grabbed her arm. "No," she practically yelled.

"What?" Alice asked, sounding a little worried.

"Sorry," Rose said, now whispering. "But my parents are having some sort of function in there. And since it is in my house, the press are in there hoping to get a picture of me. I can't go in there looking like this!"

I sighed. "Come on," I said to her. "You can clean up at our place."

Alice glanced over at me. "Bella has made you soft, Eddie."

I shook my head. "No," I said. "I just know what it's like to be chased by people on your bad days when you just want to be left alone." Well, okay, maybe she's made me a little soft.

Alice simply rolled her eyes and began walking to her car, with Rose and me quickly following.

Twenty minutes later, we were back at my house. Alice pulled into the driveway, and the three of us got out so quickly, anyone watching might think we were practicing to be a pit crew at some major car race.

I was the first to walk into the house, closely followed by Rosalie and then Alice. Rose was looking around as if afraid that someone with a camera would jump out and take pictures of her in the state she was in. Luckily, that didn't happen and we made it safely into the house.

The door slammed behind us as we walked into the living room. "Bathroom is down that hall and to the right," I said, pointing to my right. Rose nodded and walked in that direction.

"Hey guys!" Emmett's loud voice rang through the house as the front door and the bathroom door slammed shut at the exact same moment.

"Hey Em," I said as he joined us in the living room. He had the usual smile on his face.

Emmett nodded to each of us before running up the stairs to his room, his footsteps echoing throughout the large house.

"I'm going to go pick up Bella," I told Alice.

"Okay," she said. "I'll go see if Rose needs anything.

Glad to see that Alice was acting somewhat civil to Rosalie, I grabbed my coat and keys and headed out the door.

Eighteen minutes later, I was at Bella's house. I got out of the car and ran up the walk to her door. She lived in a secluded are with trees on either side of the house. It was quiet and I knew it made her feel safe.

I rang the doorbell and Bella's mother, Renée, answered.

"Oh, hello, Edward," she said kindly. She was nice to me, even though it was my fault that Bella had left a year and two months ago. I was grateful, though I knew I didn't deserve it.

"Hi Renée," I said.

She smiled. "Come on in, dear. Go ahead on up to her room."

I thanked her before running up the stairs as quietly as I could. When I got to her door, I knocked softly.

"Hey, who was at the door?" she asked, thinking it was her mother.

I opened the door slowly and put my head inside. "Me," I said.

Bella was on her bed with headphones in. She pulled them out when she saw me and jumped off her bed. I went inside and shut the door behind me. "Hey, you," she said as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I put my hands around her waist and pulled her towards me. "Hey," I said, leaning down to give her a soft kiss. When I pulled away, her eyes were still closed. I smiled before kissing her once more.

"So, what are we doing today?" Bella asked.

"I was thinking you could come over," I said. My eyes slid unabashedly toward the bed. "Though I would be happy to stay here with you if you wanted to."

She thought about that for a minute before saying, "No, I want to see Alice and Emmett too."

I pretended to be hurt. "What? Are they more important to you that your boyfriend is?" I asked.

I smile crossed her face at that word, just like I knew it would. The same thing happened to me whenever anyone referred to Bella as my girlfriend.

"All right," I said. "Come on." I took her hand and led her out the door, down the stairs, and out the door. We both said goodbye to Renée and Phil, who were sitting in the kitchen, before heading towards the car. I opened the passenger seat for her and then went around to my side.

I put the keys in the ignition and put on my seatbelt. Bella already had her seatbelt on and she was looking at me without a half suspicious, half frightened look.

"Slowly," she instructed.

I gave her a sheepish grin before putting my hands on the wheel. "Whatever makes you happy," I said. Then, at a ridiculously slow pace, I drove down her street and to my house.

It took twice as long to get home than it did to get to Bella's because she forced me to stay at the speed limit. I, however, would just like to point out that I've never gotten a speeding ticket, while Bella has. The irony in that just kills me.

When we got into the house, we found Alice and Rosalie on the couch talking. Rose had gotten her hair dry and had found a new set of clothes from somewhere. Where, I don't know, because Alice is about a head shorter than Rose is.

They both looked up as they saw Bella and I come in. Bella stiffened as Rosalie got up and walked over to us. I realized this was the first time they had seen each other since the tour last summer.

"Hi," Rosalie said apprehensively.

Bella looked at me with confused eyes. She had, unwillingly, told Alice and me what Rose had said to make her leave. She hadn't wanted us to be on bad terms with Rosalie, but we pushed her to tell us, thinking we at least deserved an explanation.

Think I deserve an explanation
Tell me the reason why you are gone
There's a hole in my chest where my heart used to be
Living with autopilot on

The lyrics to Bella's song played through my head. It still amazed me that I was ever that unhappy. With Bella back, I felt perfectly whole.

I nodded to Bella, showing that everything was now okay between us and Rosalie.

"Um, hi?" Bella, said, her response coming out in the form of a question.

Rosalie sighed before speaking. "Look, I know you aren't happy to see me, considering how big a bitch I was a year ago, but I wanted to say that I am really sorry. I knew I was hurting you, and I feel terribly guilty about it."

She held her breath, waiting for a response. What happened next surprised us all. Bella walked forward and gave Rose a tentative hug. "Forgiven," she said with a small smile. It was such an Alice-like thing to do and my sister was smiling proudly.

"Bella!" Emmett shouted from the top of the stairs. He ran down and gave her a big hug. Emmett, like the rest of us, was incredibly happy to have Bella back. Even he could sense the change in atmosphere that she brought around.

"Hey…Emmett," Bella said. She pulled away, trying to escape his bone-crushing grip.

Behind her, Rosalie was staring at Emmett. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was almost completely open. She recovered quickly and stuck out her hand toward Emmett. "I'm Rosalie," she said.

Emmett looked at her and grinned. "Emmett," he said, shaking her hand.

I watched this exchange and glanced over at Alice. She was watching the two of them as well with a knowing smile on her face.

I leaned over to whisper in Bella's ear. "I give them a month before the next headline is screaming Rosalett."

She grinned and looked over at me, probably remembering, as I was, the name Edwella. It was annoying a year back, but I was glad to see it back in the magazines.

Emmett and Rosalie were in there own world as they talked about random things, while slowly moving over to the couch, until they were sitting side by side, completely forgetting about the rest of us.

Alice must have heard what I said to Bella, because she said, "I disagree. I give them a week. Two, tops."

Bella and I both laughed. Alice looked back at them and shrugged. "Okay, guys," she said. "Since the four of you are already paired off, I'm going to go see Jasper. I'll be back in a few hours."

I nodded and Bella gave Alice a quick hug and Alice bounced away.

The two of us watched Rosalie and Emmet for a few moments before I turned to her.

"Bella, follow me," I said. She nodded and, quietly, the two of us crept up the stairs and into my room, unnoticed by my brother and co-star.

I walked over to my piano and sat down as she closed the door. Then she walked over to my bed and sat down.

"My new CD is set to be released in four months," I told her, staring down at the keys. "I've gotten permission to add an additional song to the CD. One that I wrote."

I looked over at Bella. She was looking at me curiously with a small smile. "Would you like to hear it?" I asked.

She smiled. "Of course," she said eagerly.

I poised my hands over the keys, ready to play. "Inspired by you," I added pointedly, before beginning the intro. I concentrated on the quick tempo of the notes I had written just three weeks ago. Just as the music became loud, my hands paused over the keys for a moment as I opened my mouth to sing.

To all the guys out there
With a girl they love and care for

I wanted to turn and see the reaction on Bella's face, but I couldn't so that and concentrate on the chords at the same time.

What do you feel when you look in her eyes
When you run your fingers through her hair
What is this feeling
Does it even have a name
It's wonderful, indescribable, and almost insane.

I hadn't found this song hard to write at all. On the contrary, just like To the End of Time, the words flowed easily, and I only had to conjure up Bella's face in my mind in order to invent another verse.

When you reach for the sky, do you touch the stars
Can't turn back, already in too far
Always laughing
Up on cloud nine
With your girl always by your side
See her in your dreams
And she's there when you wake
That smile on your face is no longer fake
Because she makes the sun shine
Covers you in warmth
And you know you've found true love
Welcome to my world

My amazing, perfect world. The way it should be, and always will be, with Bella around. I couldn't help but smile as I began the second verse.

You can't help but to stare
Do you wonder if it's fair
You've found your perfect match, your only love
Nothing could ever tear you apart
When she comes your way
Do you forget how to breathe
Because she's beautiful and from straight out of your dreams

The truth of these lyrics rang out in my voice with every word. No one could doubt the love I have for Bella. I couldn't even lie to myself about it, back when I had actually tried to.

When you reach for the sky, do you touch the stars
Can't turn back, already in too far
Always laughing
Up on cloud nine
With your girl always by your side
See her in your dreams
And she's there when you wake
That smile on your face is no longer fake
Because she makes the sun shine
Covers you in warmth
And you know you've found true love
Welcome to my world

I finished the chorus for a second time, working my way to the slightly slower bridge.

Lying in the grass
Her head on your arm
She watches the clouds pass
But you only see her smile
You know it's meant to be
Know this is love
Could never let her go
Will never be alone

I took the opportunity provided by the short pause in the song to glance over at Bella. The smile on her face was just as big as my own, and widened when I caught her eye. I winked at her before turning back to the keys.

And when you reach for the sky, do you touch the stars
Can't turn back, already in too far
Always laughing
Up on cloud nine
Won't ever let her leave your side

I sped back up to the original tempo as I got closer to the end of the song.

See her in your dreams
And she's there when you wake
That smile on your face is no longer fake
Because she makes the sun shine
Covers you in warmth
And you know you've found true love

Welcome to my world
Welcome, oh, welcome
Welcome to my world

The song faded out and I lifted my foot off the pedal. I made a move to get up and walk over to Bella, but she was quicker than I was. She sat down on my piano bench and took my face into her hands. I gazed into her deep, brown eyes, wondering, yet again, how I got so lucky.

"That was beautiful, Edward," she said.

"It was written for a beautiful girl," I replied. A blush painted her cheeks as she smiled shyly. I would never get tired of just watching her—of that much I was sure.

"Did you mean it?" she asked.

I wrapped my arm around her and slowly rubbed circles on her back. "Which part, love?" I asked.

"Won't ever let her leave your side," she quoted, half saying the line and half singing.

I grinned in response and pulled her tightly to me. "I don't think I'm strong enough to make it through you leaving," I said, kissing the top of her head. "Not again."

"Good," she said, her voice slightly muffled by the fact that her face was pressed up against my chest. She pulled away and lifted her head slightly. I leaned down and kissed her softly.

Bella pulled away and murmured, "Because I don't think I'm strong enough to leave you again."

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