Chastity Child

Chapter Twelve

It's been four years since my life started. Or ended; whichever way you want to look at it.

Po-tay-toe, Po-tah-toe.

Bella mostly stopped talking to me for a week after I first told her I loved her. We stayed in Seattle for those days, her constantly at the hospital for Charlie. I went too for a few hours, when we first got there and to pick her up, but she never said anything to me.

I knew she was just upset about the mention of marriage. She didn't believe in it, especially not after what happened to her parents and the great emphasis on its importance to God her mother always made. If even her mother had been capable of divorce-once she finally did divorce Charlie-then there was simply no hope for her…Or so she thought.

So, because I understood where she was coming from, I let her ignore me.

It was just as well anyhow, seeing as Jasper was in town. The last day we were in Seattle I let Bella hang out at the hospital all day, and found myself visiting Jasper. Bella and I were going to be catching a late plane back to Chicago, and I hadn't had the chance to stop by.

The girl he was with really had done a number on him. His apartment was neat and organized, even the furniture finally matched. He had never been big on that sort of thing.

We had been kicked back on the couch, watching ESPN and drinking beer, when a knock came at the door. Apparently his girlfriend-who now lived there-had misplaced her key.

I had been prepared to meet some leggy blonde. Some leggy blonde I didn't know. What I hadn't been prepared for was for Alice. When Jasper had told me his girlfriend's name was Mary, I hadn't thought that maybe he didn't tell me her name was Mary Alice because he knew of my dislike for her. And I only knew one Mary Alice.

Brandon.

She's infiltrating my life; one person at a time.

She smiled at me sheepishly from the doorway, giving me a half wave. I wasn't fooled. Alice wasn't a sheepish person. I spent a good deal of time glaring the both of them, contributing-grudgingly-to the conversation.

That's when Bella started talking to me again.

She caught a taxi over from the hospital, wanting to say goodbye to Alice, and not knowing Alice was seeing anyone. They had argued for a bit before dropping the conversation. Bella felt betrayed that Alice hadn't mentioned Jasper, and then noticing I was there started to demand a reason as to why I hadn't told her.

She was ridiculous. Why wouldn't I tell her if I had found out before she had? Once I had her convinced of my innocence on the subject, conversation resumed like normal. Jasper's mom said 'Hi', Alice and I argued, and Bella mediated. Sometimes she would take my side and sometimes she would take Alice's.

When we got back to Chicago I moved in to Bella's apartment.

I didn't tell her about it. I just slowly started leaving more and more of my stuff at her place and finding less and less a reason to return home. She finally caught on to me though, when she got home after work one day to find my piano in her living room.

She threw a fit. Demanding I take it back to my place, and what the hell did I think I was doing just moving my stuff in? She dropped it quickly though, when I told her I no longer had my apartment and asked if she wanted me to live on the streets.

I even proposed to her again. Well, proposed to her for real.

That day I was supposed to meet her for lunch, after first deciding I was going to tell her I loved her, I stopped at an art supply store. They had a sign in the window offering personalizations.

I picked out a journal out of the selection they had and brought it up to the register, specifying the personalization I wanted on the cover.

It said:

1:24 AM –The first time we met.

2:12 AM- The first time I fell in love.

3:58 AM- The first time I wrote your song.

11:36 AM- The last time I'm late.

I had a CD made of some of my compositions, and her song, and put it in the compartment on the back inside cover of the journal.

I took her on a picnic dinner in the park when I gave it to her. I explained what the each thing on the cover meant, got down on one knee and asked to be her husband.

She said no.

It wasn't that she didn't love me-she could admit it by then- because she did. Rather, as she said, I was hers. It was enough for her that I knew that, and that she knew that. In her opinion that meant everyone who mattered, knew.

She said, "Edward, I love you. But a fancy piece of paper isn't going bind us together forever. We do that."

She used the journal though. She would never tell me what she was writing in it, and was really good at hiding it, so I never found out. I was glad for it, though that wasn't the only time I proposed to her.

We had the conversation at least once a month for a year and half.

Charlie visited. He tried to come out a few times a year. It seems his stint in the hospital gave him a new perspective on life. I never did find out what he and Bella talked about at the hospital, but their relationship has been better for it.

Renee still liked to pretend Bella didn't exist. Bella didn't like it, but she knew she couldn't dwell on the fact she didn't have such a wonderful mother. So one day, when we were just watching TV on the couch she decided to tell me everything about her. She said she was letting go. She letting go of everything, so she could move on.

She has been happier since then.

When we moved in to a new place I got Emmett, from the gym, to help. He turned out to be a good friend, though when he brought his girlfriend with him it was a bit of a shock.

She was the blonde at the restaurant so long ago, who slapped me for talking about Bella before walking out on me.

As it turns out her name was Rosalie. Interestingly enough she forgave me easily, but she glared continually at Bella. It didn't take much to figure out what the problem was.

Rosalie was beautiful, but self conscious in a way. And by in a way, I mean she was very aware of how she looked. She was very aware that men ogled her wherever she went, and how they perceived her body. She couldn't understand why I would choose someone like Bella over someone like her.

She did warm up to Bella eventually. It took a while, but since her and Emmett started coming around so often she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter.

And as for how it's been the end of my life…

Well, they say it's hard for a man to marry, because then he'll only ever get to have sex with one woman ever again.

But she was the only woman I ever wanted to be with.

"Edward, I'm home."

I looked up at my girl, watching as she waddled in the front door, from my seat at the piano.

"Hey, Baby."

She grimaced, "I told you not to call me that."

I laughed, stood from the bench and walked over to her. I wrapped an arm around her waist, brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her.

"Bella, who said I was talking to you?" I teased.

Grinning down at her, my right hand rubbed the ring on her left hand, and then I slowly lowered myself down to my knees. Putting my forehead on her swollen stomach I closed my eyes, inhaling softly.

"Hey, baby," I whispered.

Lightly, I trailed my hands across Bella's belly, feeling for any movement.

As much as I would like to say she didn't marry me because she got pregnant, I knew better.

In fact I could remember her exact words.

"If you really think I'm going to have a different last name than my children, you've got another think coming."

It didn't really matter to me in the end, what her reasoning was for marrying me. I knew she loved me, so either way, I won.

A slow smile spread across my face as I opened my eyes, I tilted my head back slightly to look up at my wife. Bella ran her fingers through my hair, smiling down at me softly.

"I love you, Edward."

Children. She had said.

Now all we need is the fence.

Hello, So that is the end of the story....I hope you all liked it...And I also hope most of your questions were answered.

Thank you for reading! :D

Oh and also, I have a new story out that is called The Awakening, you should check it out. :D