RfH Chapter 18 Teaser

“I’m telling you, Edward, it will turn out fine,” she assures me once again. From the tone of her voice, I’m pretty sure she rolled her eyes at me.

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter as long as I still have you at the end of the day.” Bella tosses Eddie into the back. Leaning over the center console, she hugs my right arm and nuzzles her face into my shoulder. “My offer still stands. If at any time you want to go home – ”

“Edward,” she reprimands. “Why on Earth would I want to go home?”

“You wanted to go to your dad’s,” I point out.

“No I didn’t.”

“What?” I look at her in shock and she reprimands me as the car drifts into another lane. “Why the fuck did we go to Forks then?” I ask in disbelief.

“I didn’t want to intrude on your time with your father. That’s why I offered to stay with Charlie. You didn’t protest so…”

“You won’t be intruding.” Maybe having Bella with me will score some brownie points with dear old Dad. It’ll prove I’m not completely worthless. “And I didn’t protest because I thought that was what you wanted. I felt bad – I still do – having you come with me.”

“What? Why?”

“Like I said before, you should be out having fun.”

“I am out having fun,” she counters.

“That’s not what I mean,” I say seriously.

“Then what do you mean? Because I don’t understand.”

“Bella, you told me that you were fed up with taking care of people – your mom, your dad. We met because you were running.” I want to add “from your immature, douche bag of a boyfriend” but refrain. “I don’t want you to end up running from me.”

“I won’t,” she says. I sigh, both in relief and frustration. I appreciate her devotion but I don’t know how she can be so certain. “I mean, it will be a fast paced walk at the very most. I don’t imagine that you have the stamina to keep up with me, Gramps.”

I laugh, probably the hardest I’ve laughed in a long time. “You’re sure not afraid to give me a hard time, are you?”

“Nope.”