*by Stephenie Meyer*
TWILIGHT - chapter 15 - THE CULLENS
The muted light of yet another cloudy দিন eventually woke me. I lay with my arm across my eyes, groggy and dazed. Something, a dream trying to be remembered, struggled to break into my consciousness. I moaned and rolled on my side, hoping আরো sleep would come. And then the পূর্ববর্তি দিন flooded back into my awareness.
"Oh!" I sat up so fast it made my head spin.
"Your hair looks like a haystack... but I like it." His unruffled voice came from the rocking chair in the corner.
"Edward! আপনি stayed!" I rejoiced and thoughtlessly threw myself across the room and into his lap. In the instant that my thoughts caught up with my actions, I froze, shocked দ্বারা my own uncontrolled enthusiasm. I stared up at him, afraid that I had crossed the wrong line.
But he laughed.
"Of course," he answered, startled, but seeming pleased দ্বারা my reaction. His hands rubbed my back.
I laid my head cautiously against his shoulder, breathing in the smell of his skin.
"I was sure it was a dream."
"You're not that creative," he scoffed.
"Charlie!" I remembered, thoughtlessly jumping up again and heading to the door.
"He left an ঘন্টা পূর্বে - after reattaching your battery cables, I night add. I have to admit I was disappointed. Is that really all it would take to stop you, if আপনি were determined to go?"
I deliberated where I stood, wanting to return to him badly, but afraid I might have morning breath.
"You're not usually this confused in the morning," he noted. He held his arms open for me to return. A nearly irresistable invitation.
"I need another human minute," I admitted.
"I'll wait."
I skipped to the bathroom, my emotions unrecognizable. I didn't know myself, inside অথবা out. The face in the mirror was practically a stranger - eyes too bright, hectic spots of red across my cheekbones. After I brushed my teeth, I worked to straighten out the ট্যাঙ্গেল্ড chaos that was my hair. I splashed my face with cold water, and tried to breath normally, with no noticeable success. I half-ran back to my room.
It seemed like a miracle that he was there, his arms still waiting for me. He reached out to me, and my হৃদয় thumped unsteadily.
"Welcome back," he murmured, taking my into his arms.
He rocked me for a while in silence, until I noticed that his clothes were changed, his hair smooth.
"You left?" I accused, touching the মণ্ডল of his fresh shirt.
"I could hardly leave in the clothes I came in - what would the neighbors think?"
I pouted.
"You were very deeply asleep; I didn't miss anything." His eyes gleamed. "The talking came earlier."
I groaed. "What did আপনি hear?"
His golden eyes grew very soft. "You ব্যক্ত আপনি loved me."
"You knew that already," I reminded him, ducking my head.
"It was nice to hear, just the same."
I hid my face against his shoulder.
"I প্রণয় you," I whispered.
"You are my life now," he answered simply.
There was nothing আরো to say for the moment. He rocked us back and forth as the room grew lighter.
"Breakfast time," he ব্যক্ত eventually, casually - to prove, I'm sure, that he remembered all my human frailties.
So I clutched my throat with both hands and stared at him with wide eyes. Shock crossed his face.
"Kidding!" I snickered. "And আপনি ব্যক্ত I couldn't act."
He frowned in disgust. "That wasn't funny."
"It was very funny, and আপনি know it." But I examined his golden eyes carefully, to make sure that I was forgiven. Apparently, I was.
"Shall I rephrase?" he asked. "Breakfast time for the human."
"Oh, okay."
He threw me over his stone shoulder, gently, but with a swiftness that left me breathless. I protested as he carried me easily down the stairs, but he ignored me. He sat me right side up on a chair.
The রান্নাঘর was bright, happy, seeming to absorb my mood.
"What's for breakfast?" I asked pleasantly.
That threw him for a minute.
"Er, I'm not sure. What would আপনি like?" His marble brow puckered.
I grinned, hopping up
"That's right, I fend for myself pretty well. Watch me hunt."
I found a bowl and a box of cereal. I could feel his eyes on me as I poured the দুধ and grabbed a spoon. I sat my খাবার on the table, and then paused.
"Can I get আপনি anything?" I asked, not wanting to be rude.
He rolled his eyes. "Just eat, Bella."
I sat at the table, watching him as I took a bite. He was gazing at me, studying my every movement. It made me self-conscious. I cleared my throat to speak, to distract him.
"What's on the agenda for today?" I asked.
"Hmmm..." I watched him frame his answer carefully. "What would আপনি say to meeting my family?"
I gulped.
"Are আপনি afraid now?" He sounded hopeful.
"Yes," I admitted; how could I deny it - he could see my eyes.
"Don't worry." He smirked. "I'll protect you."
"I'm not afraid of them," I explained. "I'm afraid they won't... like me. Won't they be, well, surprised that আপনি would bring someone... like me... প্রথমপাতা to meet them? So they know that I know about them?"
"Oh, they already know everything. They'd taken bets yesterday, আপনি know" - he smiled, but his voice was harsh - "on whether I'd bring আপনি back, though why anyone would bet against Alice, I can't imagine. At any rate, we don't have secrets in the family. It's not really feasible, what with my mind পাঠ করা and Alice seeing the future and all that."
"And Jasper making আপনি feel all warm and fuzzy about spilling your guts, don't forget that."
"You paid attention," he smiled approvingly.
"I've been known to do that every now and then," I grimaced. "So did Alice see me coming?"
His reaction was strange. "Something like that," he ব্যক্ত uncomfortably, turning away so I couldn't see his eyes. I stared at him curiously.
"Is that any good?" he asked, turning back to me abruptly and eyeing my breakfast with a teasing look on his face. "Honestly, it doesn'y look very appetizing."
"Well, it's no irritable grizzly...," I murmured, ignoring him when he glowered. I was still wondering why he responded that way when I mentioned Alice. I hurried through my cereal, speculating.
He stood in the middle of the kitchen, the statue of Adonis again, staring abstractedly out the back windows.
Then his eyes were back on me, and he smiled his heartbreaking smile.
"And আপনি should introduce me to আপনি father, too, I think."
"He already knows you," I reminded him.
"As your boyfriend, I mean."
I stared at him with suspicion. "Why?"
"Isn't that customary?" he asked innocently.
"I don't know," I admitted. My dating history gave me a few reference points to work with. Not that any normal rules of dating applied here. "That's not necessary, আপনি know. I don't expect আপনি to... I mean, আপনি don't have to pretend for me."
His smile was impatient. "I'm not preending."
I pushed the remains of my cereal around the edges of the bowl, biting my lip.
"Are আপনি going to tell Charlie I'm your boyfriend অথবা not?" he demanded.
"Is that what আপনি are?" I supposed my internal cringing at the thought of Edward and Charlie and the word boyfriend all in the same room at the same time.
"It's a loose interpretation on the word 'boy', I'll admit."
"I was under the impression that আপনি were something more, actually," I confessed, looking at the table.
"Well, I don't know if we need to give him all the gory details." H reached across the টেবিল to lift my chin with a cold, gentle finger. "But he will need some explanation for why I'm around here so much. I don't want Chief রাজহাঁস getting a restraining order put on me."
"Will আপনি be?" I asked, suddenly anxious. "Will আপনি really be here?"
"As long as আপনি want me," he assured me.
"I'll always want you," I warned him. "Forever."
He walked slowly around the table, and, pausing a few feet away, he reached out to touch his fingertips to my cheek. His expression was unfathomable.
"Does that make আপনি sad?" I asked.
He didn't answer. He stared into my eyes for an immeasurable period of time.
"Are আপনি finished?" he finally asked.
I jumped up. "Yes."
"Get dressed - I'll wait here."
TWILIGHT - chapter 15 - THE CULLENS
The muted light of yet another cloudy দিন eventually woke me. I lay with my arm across my eyes, groggy and dazed. Something, a dream trying to be remembered, struggled to break into my consciousness. I moaned and rolled on my side, hoping আরো sleep would come. And then the পূর্ববর্তি দিন flooded back into my awareness.
"Oh!" I sat up so fast it made my head spin.
"Your hair looks like a haystack... but I like it." His unruffled voice came from the rocking chair in the corner.
"Edward! আপনি stayed!" I rejoiced and thoughtlessly threw myself across the room and into his lap. In the instant that my thoughts caught up with my actions, I froze, shocked দ্বারা my own uncontrolled enthusiasm. I stared up at him, afraid that I had crossed the wrong line.
But he laughed.
"Of course," he answered, startled, but seeming pleased দ্বারা my reaction. His hands rubbed my back.
I laid my head cautiously against his shoulder, breathing in the smell of his skin.
"I was sure it was a dream."
"You're not that creative," he scoffed.
"Charlie!" I remembered, thoughtlessly jumping up again and heading to the door.
"He left an ঘন্টা পূর্বে - after reattaching your battery cables, I night add. I have to admit I was disappointed. Is that really all it would take to stop you, if আপনি were determined to go?"
I deliberated where I stood, wanting to return to him badly, but afraid I might have morning breath.
"You're not usually this confused in the morning," he noted. He held his arms open for me to return. A nearly irresistable invitation.
"I need another human minute," I admitted.
"I'll wait."
I skipped to the bathroom, my emotions unrecognizable. I didn't know myself, inside অথবা out. The face in the mirror was practically a stranger - eyes too bright, hectic spots of red across my cheekbones. After I brushed my teeth, I worked to straighten out the ট্যাঙ্গেল্ড chaos that was my hair. I splashed my face with cold water, and tried to breath normally, with no noticeable success. I half-ran back to my room.
It seemed like a miracle that he was there, his arms still waiting for me. He reached out to me, and my হৃদয় thumped unsteadily.
"Welcome back," he murmured, taking my into his arms.
He rocked me for a while in silence, until I noticed that his clothes were changed, his hair smooth.
"You left?" I accused, touching the মণ্ডল of his fresh shirt.
"I could hardly leave in the clothes I came in - what would the neighbors think?"
I pouted.
"You were very deeply asleep; I didn't miss anything." His eyes gleamed. "The talking came earlier."
I groaed. "What did আপনি hear?"
His golden eyes grew very soft. "You ব্যক্ত আপনি loved me."
"You knew that already," I reminded him, ducking my head.
"It was nice to hear, just the same."
I hid my face against his shoulder.
"I প্রণয় you," I whispered.
"You are my life now," he answered simply.
There was nothing আরো to say for the moment. He rocked us back and forth as the room grew lighter.
"Breakfast time," he ব্যক্ত eventually, casually - to prove, I'm sure, that he remembered all my human frailties.
So I clutched my throat with both hands and stared at him with wide eyes. Shock crossed his face.
"Kidding!" I snickered. "And আপনি ব্যক্ত I couldn't act."
He frowned in disgust. "That wasn't funny."
"It was very funny, and আপনি know it." But I examined his golden eyes carefully, to make sure that I was forgiven. Apparently, I was.
"Shall I rephrase?" he asked. "Breakfast time for the human."
"Oh, okay."
He threw me over his stone shoulder, gently, but with a swiftness that left me breathless. I protested as he carried me easily down the stairs, but he ignored me. He sat me right side up on a chair.
The রান্নাঘর was bright, happy, seeming to absorb my mood.
"What's for breakfast?" I asked pleasantly.
That threw him for a minute.
"Er, I'm not sure. What would আপনি like?" His marble brow puckered.
I grinned, hopping up
"That's right, I fend for myself pretty well. Watch me hunt."
I found a bowl and a box of cereal. I could feel his eyes on me as I poured the দুধ and grabbed a spoon. I sat my খাবার on the table, and then paused.
"Can I get আপনি anything?" I asked, not wanting to be rude.
He rolled his eyes. "Just eat, Bella."
I sat at the table, watching him as I took a bite. He was gazing at me, studying my every movement. It made me self-conscious. I cleared my throat to speak, to distract him.
"What's on the agenda for today?" I asked.
"Hmmm..." I watched him frame his answer carefully. "What would আপনি say to meeting my family?"
I gulped.
"Are আপনি afraid now?" He sounded hopeful.
"Yes," I admitted; how could I deny it - he could see my eyes.
"Don't worry." He smirked. "I'll protect you."
"I'm not afraid of them," I explained. "I'm afraid they won't... like me. Won't they be, well, surprised that আপনি would bring someone... like me... প্রথমপাতা to meet them? So they know that I know about them?"
"Oh, they already know everything. They'd taken bets yesterday, আপনি know" - he smiled, but his voice was harsh - "on whether I'd bring আপনি back, though why anyone would bet against Alice, I can't imagine. At any rate, we don't have secrets in the family. It's not really feasible, what with my mind পাঠ করা and Alice seeing the future and all that."
"And Jasper making আপনি feel all warm and fuzzy about spilling your guts, don't forget that."
"You paid attention," he smiled approvingly.
"I've been known to do that every now and then," I grimaced. "So did Alice see me coming?"
His reaction was strange. "Something like that," he ব্যক্ত uncomfortably, turning away so I couldn't see his eyes. I stared at him curiously.
"Is that any good?" he asked, turning back to me abruptly and eyeing my breakfast with a teasing look on his face. "Honestly, it doesn'y look very appetizing."
"Well, it's no irritable grizzly...," I murmured, ignoring him when he glowered. I was still wondering why he responded that way when I mentioned Alice. I hurried through my cereal, speculating.
He stood in the middle of the kitchen, the statue of Adonis again, staring abstractedly out the back windows.
Then his eyes were back on me, and he smiled his heartbreaking smile.
"And আপনি should introduce me to আপনি father, too, I think."
"He already knows you," I reminded him.
"As your boyfriend, I mean."
I stared at him with suspicion. "Why?"
"Isn't that customary?" he asked innocently.
"I don't know," I admitted. My dating history gave me a few reference points to work with. Not that any normal rules of dating applied here. "That's not necessary, আপনি know. I don't expect আপনি to... I mean, আপনি don't have to pretend for me."
His smile was impatient. "I'm not preending."
I pushed the remains of my cereal around the edges of the bowl, biting my lip.
"Are আপনি going to tell Charlie I'm your boyfriend অথবা not?" he demanded.
"Is that what আপনি are?" I supposed my internal cringing at the thought of Edward and Charlie and the word boyfriend all in the same room at the same time.
"It's a loose interpretation on the word 'boy', I'll admit."
"I was under the impression that আপনি were something more, actually," I confessed, looking at the table.
"Well, I don't know if we need to give him all the gory details." H reached across the টেবিল to lift my chin with a cold, gentle finger. "But he will need some explanation for why I'm around here so much. I don't want Chief রাজহাঁস getting a restraining order put on me."
"Will আপনি be?" I asked, suddenly anxious. "Will আপনি really be here?"
"As long as আপনি want me," he assured me.
"I'll always want you," I warned him. "Forever."
He walked slowly around the table, and, pausing a few feet away, he reached out to touch his fingertips to my cheek. His expression was unfathomable.
"Does that make আপনি sad?" I asked.
He didn't answer. He stared into my eyes for an immeasurable period of time.
"Are আপনি finished?" he finally asked.
I jumped up. "Yes."
"Get dressed - I'll wait here."