The Newborn

part four / chapter two.

Together we wandered into the large, warmly lit house. He swept my hair off of the back of my neck and pressed a tender kiss to the nape of it. I could feel his smile against my skin and I tilted my head flirtatiously in response.

Since becoming engaged and knowing that Edward and I's future was sealed, I had been keeping a mental list of things I would miss and would remember decades from now about our initial years together. The Cullen house was at the top of my list, right after my parents and our friends. Whenever I stepped inside of its walls, I felt immediately comforted. I knew that I had a home there and a home with the people that lived within its walls. It helped that there was usually a friend or two also hanging around. It had become like a clubhouse to those of us with few other places to go which, in Forks, was not such an uncommon thing. 

On this occasion, as I entered the living room I found only Esme and Carlisle, curled up together in one of the armchairs looking at a book of photography together. They glanced up, beaming at Edward and I as we entered and Esme shut to book gently, hugging it to her chest. "Hello darlings!" She spoke quietly, as though frightened to disturb the contented peace that had fallen over her household. "The others are all hidden away in their rooms for now but we thought we might play a game of cards a little later on if you're interested."

"That sounds great!" I nodded. "I'll have to pop home to feed Charlie but I'll come back when he's gone to bed."

"You make it sound as though you had a dog instead of a father!" Chortled Carlisle.

"He's as loyal as one but he doesn't need walking quite so much." I winked as Edward pulled me towards the stairs and we ascended, heading towards his music room for some time alone. On our way, a greeting was called from each of the other bedrooms as Edward's siblings welcomed me but could not be bothered to actually come and see me. I didn't blame them, we had an eternity to hang out, and I had no doubt that I would at least see Alice, bursting with new wedding plans, before my visit was over.

Edward and I locked ourselves away in his music room and before long, as it usually did when we had our stolen moments together, conversation turned to the future. Our apartment in Alaska had been purchased already and I had spent hours poring over the photos that Kate and Tanya had sent us. They had dealt with the real estate agents on our behalf, saving us from taking the trip up there. We were eager to spend as much time in Forks as we could before our permanent relocation, but we had decided that we would stop by on our way back from our honeymoon in order to see the place for ourselves, if only to help us with our packing decisions.

"Have you given any more thought to your major?" Edward asked me, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear for me. I shrugged, still unsure of how to feel about the prospect of college. It was approaching faster than I wanted to admit and I found it hard to imagine myself walking into a packed classroom with a shining golden ring on my finger at the ripe old age of eighteen.

"Maybe English Literature... I know Carlisle wants me to go for Medicine but I'm not sure I'm there yet. Maybe in a couple of decades."

"You should do whatever you think you'll enjoy most, love. I only wish you'd allowed us to consider some universities of a higher calibre..." He added with a sigh.

I rolled my eyes, unwilling to go over this topic again. "It's a perfectly good school and we both know I couldn't have gotten into another without some shady deal going down behind closed doors. If I'm going to have this experience, I want to have it for real. No cheating."

Thankfully, Edward bowed his head graciously. "As you wish."

"Besides, I'm sure I'll get a couple more shots at it. Maybe next time we go to high school I'll pay more attention instead of letting you distract me!"