Midnight Sun (Twilight #1.5)(143)

"Are you very angry with me?" I questioned intently.

"That depends!" she said breathlessly.

I paused, waiting to hear her rebuttal.

"On?" I urged.

"What you heard!" she almost yelled.

Instantly, I was relieved that she wasn't mad at me sneaking in, that she was just angry because she was afraid I heard something she didn't want me to hear. I rushed to her side, taking her warm hands into mine, "Don't be upset!" I pleaded.

I lowered my face to hears, looking into her eyes. She tried to look away, but I distracted her, "You miss your mother," I whispered, "You worry about her. And when it rains, the sound makes you restless. You used to talk about home a lot, but it's less often now. Once you said, 'It's too green.'" I laughed, but I continued to hold her gaze, hoping she realized that I wasn't trying to offend her.

"Anything else?" she demanded.

I remembered the many nights I sat in her room and watched her sleep. How, when she said my name, it sent a jolt of pleasure through me.

"You did say my name," I confessed.

Bella sighed then, "A lot?" she asked.

I was suppressing a smile, "How much do you mean by 'a lot', exactly?"

She instantly looked mortified, "Oh no!" she hung her head, taking her gaze from me.

I heard Charlie's thoughts in that instant. He was just down the road from us. Before he arrived I wanted to let her know it was alright, that the many nights she said my name only made me love her more. I placed my arms around her, exerting the right amount of pressure, and pulled her to my chest tightly. I put my lips to her ear and whispered, "Don't be self-conscious. If I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I'm not ashamed of it." I admitted.

I heard Charlie pull into the driveway at that moment, and realized Bella heard it too. She froze in my arms and ascertained that maybe she wasn't ready to introduce us, after all.

"Should your father know I'm here?" I asked.

"I'm not sure..." she hesitated.

"Another time then..." and I released her and ran swiftly from the kitchen.

"Edward!" Bella called out to me.

I laughed softly then. Charlie placed the key in the lock at that moment and opened the door.

I had moved up the stairs and into Bella's bedroom with a quick motion that no human would have seen. Charlie stepped through the front door in that moment, "Bella?" he called out.

"In here" Bella responded a little breathless.

I heard her open the microwave, pull her dinner out, and pull a chair out to probably sit on. I heard Charlie's footsteps as he walked from the front door to the kitchen. I still had a difficult time reading Charlie's thoughts, though it was obvious what they were this evening; tired and hungry.

"Can you get me some of that? I'm bushed." Charlie asked.

I heard some scuffling on the floor, as if he were taking his boots off. I had to concentrate hard to see Bella in Charlie's mind. He watched her take her food to the counter to eat it while she was preparing food for him. She was eating like she had never had food before, like she was completely ravenous. I instantly scolded myself for forgetting to bring food to the meadow today.

"Thanks," Charlie said, and continued to watch Bella.

Charlie could tell there was something off about Bella; he just couldn't put his finger on it. He watched as she took large bites of food, rushing her meal.

"How was your day?" Bella rushed the words in between large bites of food.

Was she anxious to see me again? Is that why she was rushing? Charlie knew there was something up, but he still didn't say anything, "Good. The fish were biting...how about you? Did you get everything done that you wanted to?"

"Not really - it was too nice out to stay indoors." She explained while taking another large bite of food.

"It was a nice day," Charlie agreed, and he continued to watch his daughter eat her food like she was a starving child from Ethiopia.

She had finished the rest of her food and gulped her milk down in a couple of chugs. I chuckled internally. I was standing in the corner of her room, breathing her scent in, while I waited for her.

Suddenly, Charlie decided to say something about her behavior, and I listened intently. "In a hurry?" he asked.

Was she in a hurry? Charlie imagined she maybe had plans with some friends this evening, and was actually surprised to hear her response, "Yeah, I'm tired. I'm going to bed early." she clarified.

He wasn't convinced, "You look kinda keyed up."

"Do I?" Bella responded.

"It's Saturday," Charlie mused.

Charlie's mind then began to wonder towards reasons of why she would be keyed up. Was she sneaking out? Was there a boy involved? Did she have plans with someone she didn't want to tell him about? I grinned widely at this, because there was someone she wasn't telling him about, and that person is in her room.

"No plans tonight?" Charlie asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"No, Dad, I just want to get some sleep." Bella replied, a little annoyance in her tone.

"None of the boys in town your type, eh?" Charlie asked, still trying to get more information.

If only she knew the type of boy she was interested in.