(2) Wild Horses (E. Cullen)

Chapter Six

Bambi stands at the cooker in her little apartment, stirring away at pasta and sauce in a pan. Her run with the wolves was relaxing. For the time she's spent in human form, fighting off that instinct to change, it was a weight lifted from her shoulders. She lets out a breath and brushes her hair over her shoulder as the front door opens, Edward letting himself in, before he closes the door again.

"How's Connor?" She asks, he glances at her and nods.

"He's fine" He answers as he shrugs out of his jacket. When Bambi or Bella are occupied with other things, Edward and Connor take the time to spend it together. With the new relationships, they haven't been spending as much time with one another as they would have previously. "He told me that Bella was worried about you" She turns a glare on him, knows that she is not ready to go there yet. "I'm just passing on the message" He defends. "Charlie told her...about the adoption" She drops the spoon into her pot and curses under her breath. She didn't think Charlie would do that. She didn't think he'd want to admit that sort of thing to Bella. She's not sure how to feel about Bella knowing actually. She probably would have wanted to tell her herself, eventually. But she understands why Charlie beat her to it. Edward notices that Alistair's letter is on the table, still unopened but she's thinking about it enough that she's taken it off the notice board. She turns off the cooker and grabs her bowl from the side. "Are you going to read it?" He muses, she doesn't need to ask what he's talking about. That letter is a great big beacon. She honestly doesn't know. After she got back from hanging out with the wolves, she did think about opening it up. She got the truth out with them, and she felt like maybe she needed to read it. to find out everything. To just get it over with. But then she sat down with the letter in her hand and she couldn't do it. She has no idea what she is more afraid of. The letter telling her that he wanted nothing to do with her. Or the letter telling her that he wanted her. She lets out a breath and serves her food as Edward sits at the table. Patiently waiting for her.

"Sam took everything rather well" She admits. "And I just...thought that maybe..." She grabs a fork from the counter and moves to join him with her dinner. "But I couldn't do it" She adds and shrugs taking a seat. She lets out a breath and watches him as he turns the letter around in his hand. "You could read it" He shakes his head and sets the letter down.

"I can't" He argues. "This is for you and only you" He pushes it towards her. She shrugs a little. "There's no rush for you to read it" He assures her. "Whatever is in the letter, isn't going to change if you wait a week, or two...or a year"

"Do you know him?" She asks as she digs into her food.

"Only from what Carlisle has told me and shown me" He answers. "He became rather reclusive...about 18 years ago" She looks at him.

"Do you think he wanted me?" She counters, he shrugs and taps the letter.

"Only one way to find out" He offers and then stands, she lets out a breath and ignores the letter in favour of her food. She then hums and looks at Edward as he picks a book from their little bookshelf.

"Sam wants to have lunch, the three of us" Edward nods a little. "He thinks it will help...but you can say no," She tells him. She is kind of hoping he will say no actually, she can't begin to image what might come of that lunch meeting. It could turn into a fight.

"I'm not going to fight him" He assures her with a chuckle. She sighs and gives him a look.

"I thought you couldn't read my mind" She scolds him.

"I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking right now" He sets his book on the bed and moves back towards her. "You love the pack....you love me...so the two of us coming together means you are worried about the friction it might cause...." He looks down at her softly. "I promise that I'll be on my best behaviour" She nods and then stands with her now-empty bowl.

"Did you think about our little deal?" She asks him. "I go see the pack, you think about..." She gives him a look and nudges his nose as she leans up a little.

"I have" He touches her waist and pulls her closer. "I have thought about it..." He adds and then reaches up and touches her face, curling his hands around her cheeks. "And we can...progress" She smirks at him. "But I have one condition"

"Like what?"

"It's not just about me hurting you" He admits. "I know I no longer have to worry about that...but I am still a traditionalist..." She frowns a little at him, but he does pull her closer, tilting her face up so he can kiss her. Her eyes drift close and she lets out a soft sigh against his lips. He hums and pulls back a little, nudging her nose. "Marry me" He whispers against her lips. She chuckles and pulls back from him.

"What?" She asks him. He gives her a look. "Edward" She scolds, pulling back and moving to the sink to set in her empty bowl. "I'm 18" She reminds him. "That's ridiculous...I can't" She argues. "I mean, that's not what I thought our relationship was about" She folds her arms over her chest as she faces him. "I'm already utterly devoted and tied to you on a deeper level than some piece of paper. You need that piece of paper to even think about being intimate with me?" He watches her a moment. When she puts it that way, when she explains it, he does sound really stupid for suggesting it. The imprint means that she is tied to him on a deeper more spiritual level. Their souls literally entwined together. That's a lot stronger than marriage. "I'm going to take a shower" She offers and then walks away. Edward closes his eyes and shakes his head. For his age and intelligence. He can be stupid. He never considered the imprint link. The bond that it forged between them. In his mind, it was a wolf thing. But it's not just that. He feels it too with her. That pull when they are apart. Like magnets.