Chapter 13

Edward

It felt crazy, he was a nervous wreck. No girl had ever made him feel that way, but hey, this was his daughter he was thinking of. She was not a toddler anymore, not that he had ever seen her then. What if he had followed the PI's lead and paid a visited to Bella when she was living in that rundown apartment of hers back in the days? The P.I. had taken photos, but Edward didn't have the courage to walk up to his old girlfriend and demand answers and fight for his rights over their child. He still didn't know why Bella had so suddenly walked out on him and cut off all communication. But he hadn't tried, something had kept him from it – was it the fear of failing at being a parent or a husband.

His daughter was six now. Six was old enough, right, she could hate him for no reason, – now he couldn't sleep. He stayed up all night imagining scenarios – perfect ones where his daughter took an instant liking to him, they would hang out, and one day when he would tell her that he is her father she would accept him, and the absolute worst where she didn't want to talk to him, because she didn't like him at all … he wondered if it all went well initially and then what if she refused to accept him as her father.

He just hoped that he would be around in some way or another to watch her grow up, play with her, take her too school and all the things parents get to do for their kids.

Tomorrow felt like a job interview, not that he'd ever been to one. He was reminded of the time he was waiting for colleges to reply, he would stack them up for days before he opened and read them. Most of them were acceptances.

He somehow fell asleep watching TV, and when he woke up it was ten in the morning. He jolted awake hoping he hadn't slept through the 2 PM deadline. He didn't go to office that day, he just got ready and kept pacing back and forth in his room. It seemed that 2 PM was still another twenty four hours later. It couldn't come sooner.

At one-fifteen, tired of pacing around, he decided to take a walk around the block and buy something – a candy or something for her. But he couldn't decide, what if she was allergic? He didn't want to get on to Bella's wrong side right away. He had no idea how intense and deep her maternal instincts ran. He made a mental point to ask her about allergies and stuff later when he met her. He took a cab to the hospital and instead of taking good fifteen minutes, the cab got him there in half the time. He felt anxious and nervous, as if it was a crucial first date.

He waited for Bella in the hospital reception, she'd asked him to wait there. He breathed when he finally saw Bella walk towards him. She was wearing a pale blue blouse and white jeans. She looked sleep deprived.

"Hey," Edward called out to her. He felt an urge to hug her but he kept it to himself.

"Hi," she said, suppressing a yawn. "Can we stop for a little dose of caffeine?"

"I don't think you should have coffee, you look tired. You should be sleeping."

"No, it's okay, I'm fine," she replied, "let's go?"

"Bella, you really should sleep you know," he said kindly. She looked at him, supressing another yawn. "Would you mind if I drove?"

"Actually – No, help yourself," she said throwing the keys his way. He caught it with ease. He felt as if it was his lucky day, Bella was letting him drive her, something she rarely agreed to.

Some fifteen minutes later, they were parked outside Renesmee's school. There were parents all around, some with their kids, some waiting, and there were kids, waiting, laughing, playing, and talking to each other. Bella got out of the car and walked towards the small wrought iron gate, instinctively knowing where to go looking.

A few minutes later, she walked out with two little children, a boy, and a girl. Listening intently to what they had to tell her, Edward felt smitten as he watched the three. She no longer looked like she needed sleep, she looked fresh and happy, so did he. He got out of the car.

When the three reached him, Renesmee looked at him with her eyes questioning him silently, but it was the little boy who spoke up first, with a certain authority in his little boyish voice, "who are you?"

"That's Edward," Bella answered on his behalf. "He's a – a friend." She added quickly, looking at the confused faces.

"I'm Edward," he stuck his hand out towards the little boy, who silently considered for a few seconds before he shook it. "I'm Jacob. It's nice to see you."

Edward smiled at his intense good manners. He then turned to Renesmee, "pleased to meet you, I'm Edward."

"I'm Renesmee," she said in beautiful voice. "Are you mommy's boyfriend?"

Bella looked taken aback for a second, and shook her head vehemently, denying, "no. he's a friend, from college."

Edward smiled at the strangeness of the truth. How you couldn't admit it no matter how true it was.

"How come I've never seen you before?" she interrogated innocently.

"Because I just found your mommy again," he answered, swallowing the truth himself. Bella looked at him, her face a melee of emotions, he could tell she was failing miserably at hiding her feeling at this moment.

BELLA

The truth is strange, you cannot admit to it, even it is standing naked right in front of you, dancing provocatively. The way Renesmee looked at Edward, she could tell she was thinking too hard, she had the look she always did when she was trying to fix a jigsaw puzzle back together, intense focus and questioning look on her face. But suddenly she broke into a nice smile

"I'm Renesmee," she said in beautiful voice. "Are you mommy's boyfriend?"

Bella felt like she had been caught in a lie by her mother, and shook her head vehemently, denying, "No. he's a friend, from college."

She looked at Edward to find him smiling at the strangeness of the truth.

"How come I've never seen you before?" she interrogated innocently.

"Because I just found your mommy again," he answered.

Bella took a deep breath, her exhaustion was suddenly catching up with her, and she felt stuck. There were parts of her brain focused entirely on the truth – Edward was her boyfriend – or had been. She hated the onslaught of emotions. She carefully pushed the thoughts away.

"Who wants mint chocolate chip ice cream?" she asked cheerfully, sounding more excited than the children.

"Me." Jacob and Renesmee agreed in unison.

She looked at Edward, "let's go, then."

From the author: Please do read my new story "Under the Tuscan Sun"

s/11385751/1/Under-the-Tuscan-Sun