Folktale

Chapter 29

Bella's P.O.V 

The only thing I could hear was the sound of my heavy breathing as I ran through the woods, tripping over the hem of my dress over and over again. My hands are covered in blood, dirt and scratches. My body is covered in a thick layer of sweat. My legs ached as I tried to push myself harder. I needed to run, I needed to get to him, but I could feel him right behind me. I could feel him right at my heel, chasing after me like a predator to his prey. I could hear his breathing...

My foot tangled up again with the hem of the dress again and I fell right of the palms of my hands. I groaned in pain, right at the exact moment my wrist twisted. I hear the branches snapping under his feet, he's getting closer and closer. I try to get up but I can't. I fall over again. I keep falling, unable to run away until I feel his hand on my back...

I bolt out of bed with a scream, but Edward is quick to wrap his arms around me.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay!" He pulled me rightly against his chest. I heaved so badly I felt the sudden urge to throw up. My hear felt as if it was about to burst out of my chest. "Bella, baby, its okay. It's okay, it was just a nightmare."

"I... I was running... I was running through the woods again-"

He kissed me on the cheek, on the neck, on the side of my head over and over, trying to calm me. "It's just a dream, Bella. It's okay. You're okay. It was just a dream."

I pull my soaked hair away from my face and look over at the crib. Toby is still sleeping soundly in his bed, undisturbed by the night terrors of his mother.

"I'm sorry." I try to hold back a sob, but I can't. I thought with the move, the change of scenery, a fresh new start, the nightmares were going away. But it seems the exact opposite. "I'm sorry, I know you're tired after your shift at the hospital and you have work-"

"My only job here is to take care of you," Edward whispered against my ear as he placed gentle kisses up and down my shoulder. "My job is to protect you, even if it is from your nightmares." He scoots back to his side of the bed, pulling me with him. He cacoons me in his arms, completely enveloping me, protecting me from the outside world. I curl against his chest, holding onto him as tight as I can, not wanting to let him go. "I'll take care of you, love. You're always be safe with me," he vowed.

* * *

"Damn, I was really looking forward for a shopping day. You know, just a girls day." Rosalie sighed, obviously disappointed at the fact I won't join her and Alice today at their shopping spree in the Port Angeles.

"I know, but I just arranged Toby's daycare and now I have to head over at the estate. Mrs. Welsh contacted me from the antique shop, she wants me to see what valuables have been stored away at the old Swan estate so I'll be pretty busy for the rest of the day."

"Well, maybe next time. Give Toby a big kiss for me. Have fun digging through dirt!" And she's gone. I swear, she's like the new Alice. 

I hang up as I drive down the new pathway to our new home. Just like Carlisle's estate, the old Swan estate is hidden in the woods, just at the foot of the mountain. The estate has been here for more than two hundred years, long enough for a lake to form twenty-five yards from our front door. Who would have thought I would have my own personal lake one day? 

I stop the car when we finally reach the estate. It's smaller than I would have imagined. I only came once with my grandmother when I was a little girl and thought it to be a palace set in a  fairy tale. Now looking at it, it reminds me much of Mr. Bingley's estate in Pride and Prejudice. Very antique, full of so much history. As of now, the workers are still coming in and out of the estate, working hard to make this place livable once again.