First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 8

"Stop it, stop!" Her gasps filled the air as she woke up from her nightmare. She gripped tightly onto the hand holding hers. She looked up at the person, her eyes widening in shock as she saw Edward.

"You're here," She breathed out quietly, holding onto his hand tighter.

"You can sleep," He muttered as he held her hand, "I'll still be here when you wake up."

She looked away from him, pulling her hand out of his. She pulled the blanket closer to herself, moving away from him a bit.

"Bella," He spoke, his brows furrowing with his confliction, "The only reason I left, was because I thought I was protecting you...I needed you to have a chance at a normal, happy life."

Simon remained quiet from his spot on the floor. He was sitting on the ground at the end of her bed, leaning back against the frame. His arms rested on his knees as he stared out of her window, twirling a photo in his hand as he tried his best to ignore their conversation.

"It...It was so easy for you to leave," Bella mumbled, her hand drifting up to fidget with the locket around her neck.

Edward shook his head, taking her hand back into his own. "Bella, leaving you was the hardest thing I've done in 100 years," Simon scoffed at Edward's words, but Edward continued like he didn't make a sound. "I swear...I will never fail you again. I'm so sorry."

"Charlie's coming," Simon found himself mumbling, interrupting the moment between Edward and Bella. Edward scrambled to hide, but Simon didn't move from his obvious spot on the floor. The door opened after a few seconds, and Charlie stuck his head inside.

"Hey," He spoke softly, his gaze flickering between Bella on her bed and Simon from his spot on the floor, "You guys okay?"

"Yeah, Dad, we're fine. We were just talking," She said, her gaze briefly flickering toward the end of her bed. She didn't know Simon had been there until he had warned them. She found a small blush warming her face as she realized he must have been listening to her and Edward talk.

"Good, good," Charlie nodded his head, starting to close the door as he added on, "And you're grounded...for the rest of your life."

The door closed fully after she nodded her head and Edward appeared again.

"We're not technically breaking any of his rules," He said as he sat back down next to Bella. "He did say I couldn't step inside the door. I came in through the window. He's not going to forgive me easily. Can you?" He asked, "I hope you can because I honestly don't know how to live without you."

Simon grimaced, swallowing thickly as he heard the sincerity in Edward's words. Jealousy flared up inside him, his heart feeling heavy as he had never heard such sincerity in the same words that Edward had once spoken to him decades before. He silently stood up, dropping the photo taken during his and Bella's first date on the desk.

"Goodnight, Izzy," He found himself mumbling as he stepped out of the room, turning around to close the door behind himself. Venom welled up in his eyes as he saw them lean toward each other, and he closed the door before he could see any more.

***

Simon had been silent since the moment he showed up alone, pushed into a game of Chess by Alice before he could even ask. The others had tried to start a conversation with him, but he didn't give a hint of a response to any of their attempts. He had seen Jasper shake his head to them from the corner of his eye.

The Cullens all stood together as Bella and Edward stood across from them. Simon had yet to look up from the chess board since they had arrived. He was sitting on top of the counter, his legs folded up under him as he played his fifth game with Alice. He ignored the worried looks Esme kept on shooting him, focusing his attention on his next move instead of his sister's worried gaze.