Edward's Diary

Arrivals

Dear Diary,

“Bag?”
“Yeah.”
“Tickets?”
“Yep.”
“Lenses?”
“Yes, Edward, I have everything.”
She reassured me for the thousandth time, but I could see the trepidation
in her eyes as she chewed on her lip in a very famous human gesture.
“Bella,” I put my palm on her cheek, and she leaned in to my touch.
I let her take the lead, because I knew she needed it after what had gone
down yesterday.
“It feels wrong,” she sighed after a long time of remaining quiet, “I
mean, I shouldn’t have to justify to him who I do and don’t love.”
It had been quiet for a long time after the moment Charlie had stormed
out of the house in a raging inferno.
Then, the fear had set in.
There were decisions to make, arguments to be had, defenses to be put
forward. Whether or not, to be or not to be: those were the questions.
Charlie had taken with him not only the shock of a lifetime, but a grave
knowledge of the innermost secrets of our world, thus rendering himself a
liability. Our secrets were no longer hidden under the shroud of pretense
and distance, but had been exposed to the unlikeliest of persons in the
most delicate of predicaments.
God help us if the Volturi found out.
Because the matter pertained to me and Bella, the family had, although
with resistance, left us alone to deal with it. After a long talk, and
confessions of our fears of exposure, Bella had decided to go to Forks
and explain to Charlie the gravity of the situation on home ground, maybe
even enlist the help of Billy Black and the tribe if necessary.
The only part I hadn’t agreed to in our discussion was her decision to go
alone.
It had been Carlisle who had later assured me that my presence there
would only have exacerbated the situation, given Charlie’s reaction
towards me on the day of the party.
“Trust me, Edward, you don’t want yourself there if you want Charlie to
listen.” he had said.
I had agreed eventually, and so we were here, in the driveway of our
house, trying to forestall the pending judgement by only a few minutes.
“Bella, I understand what you’re saying. But it was only natural for him
to freak out, love. We bombarded him with something that he had never
expected in his life.” I brushed a stray lock of her that had settled
itself on her cheek.
“I know, Edward. I mean, I would probably have done the same had I been
in his shoes. But he shouldn’t have judged you.” She shook her head,
wrapping her arms around me.
“Put yourself in his shoes again, Bella. What would you think if you find
out that the guy your daughter loves, the guy she married had been a
vampire all along? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t go where he went. Don’t
tell me that you wouldn’t for a minute think that he might have used, or
coerced your daughter into thinking that she loved him so he could feed
on her for the rest of her life?”
She pulled back and looked at me with an angry expression, put off with
the fact that I would dare think so low of myself, but even I could see
the wheels turning in her mind.
“Well, anything sounds immoral if you say it like that!” She finally
groaned in defeat.
I chuckled lightly, and kissed her forehead, “I know, Bella. But that’s
what is logical. I mean, just because your sense of self-preservation is
lower than Jacob’s brain cell count doesn’t mean every one else’s is.”
Hey! What the hell?! Jacob internally shouted at me, and I could hear
Emmett snigger.
“Don’t say that!” Bella smacked my arm, “he defended us!”
“Thank you,” Jacob called out from inside the house.
“I know, love, I’m sorry.” I grinned.
Bella kissed me one last time on the cheek, and then stepped out of the
confines of my arms.
“I should get going.” she looked anywhere but me as she spoke.
“Hey, Bella, look at me,” I held her face and made her look into my eyes,
“Everything will be alright. Okay?”
Bella stared at me for a long time, and then sighed heavily, “Okay.”
I kissed her on her cheek and opened the door of the car, “Call me when
you get there.”
“Yeah,” She got in and strapped her seat belt around her, and I smiled
amusingly. Only Bella could be a vampire and observe traffic safety rules
at the same time.
I watched her drive away from where I stood, and soon enough, the car
disappeared from my sight towards its destination of the rainy town of
Forks, Washington.