Elusive Reality - Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

London, England - 2004

I awoke the following morning to a gourmet breakfast, served to me in bed on a little tray, complete with a small vase of freshly picked flowers. It was like something you only saw on a Lifetime movie. I was almost speechless.

“Edward! I can’t believe you did all this!” I said as I sat up and pulled the sheet around me.

“Well, I couldn’t get you to wake up, so I got bored. I went to the store; I made everything myself!”

I laughed. Edward was proud of himself. “What time is it?”

“Almost 11:00 a.m.”

“I can’t believe I sleep so long. You really did a number on me last night,” I teased as I kissed him. He was so cute. We hurried through our breakfast so we could have each other for lunch.

~

Later that afternoon I attempted to call Jake to see if he was still at my place because I needed to go home to get some studying done. When I got no response, I decided I’d take my chances.

“I’ll walk you home,” Edward offered.

“You don’t have to. I’ll be okay, he’s probably not there.”

“I want to, just incase.”

I knew Edward’s concerns were pointless, but I allowed him to walk me home so he would feel better.

We went up to my flat and I opened the locked door and was completely unprepared for what awaited me on the other side.

I stepped inside and was at a loss for words as I took in the condition of my belongings. Everything was in disarray. Jake had trashed the place. A photo of Edward and I that had previously been on my nightstand, was now torn to pieces in a pile of broken glass from it’s frame. The mattress of my bed was thrown up against the wall. My drawers were pulled from the dressers, clothes and other belongings were strewn throughout the small space. There was a hole punched through the door that led to the bathroom. A sob escaped me and I turned to Edward.

His arms were already opened for me and I fell into them.

“I’m sorry, Bella.”

“I know he’s mad, but this is ridiculous!”

I took a few minutes to collect myself and then I started assessing the situation and where I would begin.

“Don’t even think about it,” Edward chimed in.

I turned to face him. “What do you mean? I can’t leave it like this.”

“You have an exam tomorrow. You have to maintain your GPA in order to stay in the program. His antics are not going to dictate your life. Why don’t you go to the library and study for a little while and I will clean up around here enough to make it livable.”

I sighed. “This isn’t your responsibility. I don’t want you to have to do this.”

“I don’t mind. Go on.”

I sighed and reluctantly agreed. It took us twenty additional minutes to find the textbook I needed.

~

Edward’s POV

I was so pissed off. If I thought I could take him, and if I knew where he was, I would do serious damage to Jake. I mean, who did he think he was? If he loved her, how could he destroy all of her belongings like this? It was even worse than we first suspected. It appeared that he had poured a liquid substance over her pile of bedding and many of her clothes. Based on the trash lying around in the kitchen area, it appeared that it was a mixture of milk and cranberry juice.

I wasn’t exactly domestic, and I began to think that this mess was bigger than me. I called for backup.

“Hello, Mother, are you busy?”

“Hi darling! I’m just catching up on some reading. How are you?”

“Um, well, I’ve actually got a bit of a mess on my hands. You think you could come by?”

“Of course, what’s going on?” Esme asked.

“I’ll explain when you get here. I’m at Bella’s.” I gave her the address, told her to bring some cleaning supplies, and I got to work.

It was kind of strange, and intriguing, to wash Bella’s undergarments. I had to wash all of her clothes that were victim the milk and cranberry juice. There were several little undergarments that she had yet to debut in front of me.

I gathered her bedding and put it in a large trash bag. The milk was already starting to spoil. I’d buy her new bedding, it wasn’t worth the time or effort to attempt to save it. I was grateful the little bastard didn’t ruin her expensive mattress.

I heard a gentle knock on the door.

I let my mother in.

“Oh, Edward. What happened in here? Where is Bella? Is she okay?”

My mother immediately began moving things and cleaning.

“She was upset, but I sent her off to the library to study. I didn’t realize it was this bad when I agreed to clean it up for her.”

“Who did this? Was there a break-in? Was she here?”

I sighed. “No, her ex-boyfriend from the states showed up yesterday, he wasn’t too pleased to find us in bed together.”

My mother’s face flushed.

“Sorry, Mum. We are adults, we do adult things, in beds.”

Esme laughed. “I know, darling. It’s just such an unfortunate circumstance that he found the two of you like that.”

“You’re telling me. The guy is like seven feet tall and built like a horse. He’s a little intimidating. Bella assured me he was harmless, until we came back to this.”

Esme shook her head. “This is awful.”

We made a game plan and started cleaning. Once we had put a significant dent in things my mother insisted on going out to buy Bella new bedding and some accessories that had been damaged. I knew she would go overboard so I insisted on going with her. While we were shopping, an idea struck me. I saw a really nice picture frame that would replace the one that was broken, but I needed to replace the photo as well.

“Mum, I’m going to run home and get my camera and have a print made. Do you think you can handle it from here?” We had already picked out her bedding and I didn’t think there was much else to do.

“Of course, Edward. Do whatever you need to do.”

I handed her my credit card.

“Don’t be silly. It’s on me.”

“No way, Bella will flip out when she realizes I paid for all this. She will be bloody furious if she finds out you paid.”

“It’s just a couple hundred pounds, Edward. It’s not a big deal. I don’t ever get to buy things for you kids anymore.”

“She’s not your kid! And besides, a couple hundred pounds is a lot of money to her. She’s not used to our kind of wealth. I have to practically beg her to allow me to spend money on her.”

“Well, maybe if you play your cards right, she will be my kid-in-law one day,” she teased.

I rolled my eyes. I was never going to win. “Oh, Mother. Just hurry up, okay? I’ll tell her I paid for it and we got it on clearance. Understand?”

Esme giggled. “You didn’t say no! You think you will marry her?”

I laughed. “I have to go, Mum. See you in a bit.”

“Edward!”

I left the department store and went back to my flat. On the way there I got a text from Bella.

Is it safe to come home yet? - Bella

I responded immediately. No, it’s very unsafe. Please study more. - Edward

I got home and grabbed the memory card from my camera. I headed out to make a print of one of the photos we took at the London Eye. It was my favorite of her, of us.

Are you kidding? I want to come home. I’m tired. - Bella

I really didn’t want her to come home before we had her flat back to normal. I wanted it to be a bit of a surprise.

No, I’m not kidding. He emptied the contents of your refrigerator onto your clothes and bedding. I’m still cleaning. Give me another hour, please? That way you can come home and fall into bed and not lift a finger. - Edward

Her response came moments later.

I love you. I’ll see you in an hour or so. I guess I’ll be stopping at the store on the way back. - Bella

Her message made me smile and I hurried to get my errand done and get back to her flat.

~

When I arrived to Bella’s flat, I encountered exactly what I had feared. My mother went overboard. Her bedding is what we had picked out, but in addition were what seemed like a million accent pillows. The bedding was an ivory color, similar to what she previously had, but a bit more luxurious. It had a romantic feel to it. There was some metal sconces above her bed that were on either side of a metal piece of art. The candles in the sconces were lit. Her bedside table had been draped in an ivory cloth that matched her bedding. The empty picture frame sat there next to another lit candle. In fact, there were little ivory candles lit throughout the room. There were ivory sheers outlining the window as well.

I shook my head. “Mum! This is too much.”

“Oh, Edward. No it’s not. She will love it. It feels much more like a home now. Give me the print you made.”

I handed her the photo and she placed it in the frame. I had to admit, Bella’s place looked quite nice. Her bed looked really comfortable and inviting. I really wanted to see her in it, wearing the candlelight only.

I had intended on making my mother leave before Bella arrived so she wouldn’t know my mum had spent any money; however, that didn’t go accordingly to plan. Bella walked through the door seconds later with two grocery bags in tow.

~

Bella’s POV

When I first entered my flat, I did a double-take, fearing I had gone into the wrong unit. Sure enough, though, Edward and Esme were standing just inside the door. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was like my entire flat had gotten a make-over, like someone from HGTV came in and took over. There were candles lit throughout the room, a new photo of Edward and I in a new frame, new bedding, new curtains, new accessories, it was too much.

“Edward!” I was slightly speechless as I took everything in. “It’s beautiful, but was it all really necessary?”

Edward came and took the bags from my hands. Esme greeted me. “Hi, Dear. It really was necessary. Don’t you worry about a thing,” she said as she hugged me. “We got everything on clearance. We hardly spent any money at all.” I looked around the room again and started adding things up in my head.

I looked at Edward. I didn’t believe her, but I didn’t want to be rude to his mother. It was actually very touching. My mother had never done anything close to this. The fact that Esme would care to help me made me tear up a little bit. “It’s really beautiful. You really shouldn’t have, but thank you.”

Esme kissed my cheek. “You are welcome. I’ve got to get home. Carlisle is probably wondering where I’ve disappeared to. You kids enjoy yourselves.” She hugged and kissed Edward before quickly making her exit.

“I can’t believe you and your mom did this,” I said to Edward.

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s no big deal,” he said as he went into the bathroom and moved a load of my clothes from the washer to the drier.

“It is a big deal. Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before.”

“Well you obviously haven’t been hanging around the right people.”

I nudged him. “It is too much, but I really love it. Thank you.”

Edward glanced up and smiled at me. “You’re welcome.”

“I can do this,” I said, trying to take over my laundry.

Edward actually stepped out of the way and allowed me to take over, however he had something in his hand.

“Why haven’t I ever seen these on you?” he asked as he held up a small dark blue lacy pair of panties.

I felt my cheeks turn red. The fact that he had been doing my laundry just hit me. That was awkward. I snatched them out of his hand and placed them in the drier. “They’re new,” I said, embarrassed.

Edward laughed. “Don’t be shy now. I’ve officially seen all your undergarments. You’ve definitely been holding out on me.”

I turned around to face him. “Oh my God.” I covered my face with my hand. “You are embarrassing me. I have not been holding out on you, I just haven’t worn some things yet.”

Edward laughed again and pulled me into his arms. “I’m just playing with you, baby. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I like you better naked, anyway.”

I reached up and kissed the crook of his neck. Despite all his apparent hard work, he still smelled good.

~

Edward’s POV

Making love to Bella that night in the glow of candlelight was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I didn’t think she could be any more beautiful, but seeing her creamy skin against mine in the dull glow was absolutely stunning. Her mahogany hair splayed out across the ivory pillow and her bare shoulders in stark contrast to one another. I worshiped every inch of her body with my lips and tongue until I saw a desperate look in her eyes to give her something more. Her lips were red and swollen from my kisses and she was beautiful in her imperfection. Bella was unlike any girl I had ever met before. She was constantly surprising me. She made me feel good. She made me want to do good. My happiness was a direct result of her own. My days were not complete without seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, and tasting her kiss.

“I love you, Bella.”

Her lips turned up in a small smile and she kissed my jaw. “Show me, Edward,” she whispered against my skin.

With that, I pushed into her and watched as her eyes squeezed tightly closed, and I listened, while a tiny gasp escaped her and we were connected. I loved all the different sensations she created within and around me. She was warm inside, but cool outside. Her breath against my skin was electric. Her lips left tingling sensations wherever they went. Her hands were soft and her nails strong, as they dug into the flesh on my back or tugged on my hair.

I never wanted our bodies to be apart, because everything felt right when they were together, but it was impossible not to chase the high she always brought to me. So, when her body grew tense around mine and my name began to fall from her lips, I could do nothing more than come with her and tell her that I loved her.



***Author’s Note: Sorry I missed the update last weekend! I’m in the middle of working 18 days straight w/ only one day off, so I have been short on time. Hope you all enjoyed this one....trouble starts in the next chapter. Thanks to those of you who have been reviewing! <3

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