First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 31

Edward could count how many times he had seen Simon pray on a single hand. He stood silently in the doorway, his eyes burning into the back of Simon's unknowing figure. Simon was kneeling inside their bedroom, right in front of the crib they had for Renesmee and the toddler bed they already had to get for Beaufort's growing body. Simon's chestnut brown locks dangled in front of his face as he bowed his head. He was eerily still, his shoulders tense as he consciously held his breath. His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks before his eyes slowly drifted open.

"The last time I saw you pray, I told you I was leaving."

"I've only prayed twice since then. Three times, now," Simon looked over his shoulder, his amber eyes meeting the vibrant gold rings that made up Edward's. "Once with a hopeful heart, and once with a broken one."

"Will you tell me about them?" Edward regarded Simon without malice, but he wished he kept the words to himself as he witnessed agony flicker within the depths of Simon's eyes. Within the span of a second, he was drawn into Simon's mind. The blinding sun arced across the setting sky, accentuating a silhouette of a person as their blonde hair ruffled with the soft summer breeze. The faint aroma of lavender filled the memory, the scent cemented in Edward's mind as he was thrown out of Simon's head.

"I'm sorry," Simon whispered, something akin to shame flickering across his face as he avoided Edward's gaze. "Not today."

"Hey, that's okay," Edward crossed the room to Simon, stopping to take the brunet's face in his hands. "You can tell me when you're ready. Don't force yourself to tell me sooner than you need to. Take your time, we have a lot of it."

Simon managed a weak smile, his shoulders finally loosening up as his mind began to ease. He pulled Edward against his body, an arm tucked around Edward's waist. His other hand idly traced the soft ridges of Edward's spine. Edward snaked his arms over Simon's shoulders. He placed a tender kiss to the base of Simon's neck as Simon pushed his face against Edward's shoulder.

Edward ran his slender fingers through Simon's hair, but their attention was stolen as they heard a knock on the front door. They shared a look of confusion before they separated from each other. When they had returned home from their quick hunting trip, the others left for their own hunting expedition for the weekend. They were the only ones home with the kids. Simon made it to the door first, jerking it open without apprehension.

He instantly forced himself away from the door, putting Edward between himself and the human who stood in their doorway. His hand was locked over the lower half of his face, covering his nose and his mouth as the scent of blood reached him. He urged himself to swallow as venom began to copiously pool within his mouth. His other hand gripped onto Edward's shoulder from behind, using the solidness of Edward's body to try to focus on anything other than the sound of the human's heartbeat as it pumped blood through the arteries in the human's neck.

The blond standing outside of the open door stared at Simon with wide eyes. Their mouth hung open, their face flushed warm with blood as they realized what predicament they were in.

"I am so sorry! I should have called to let you know I was coming!" The words quickly spilled out of the human's mouth, although, their racing heartbeat was all Simon could hear. Simon tightened his grip on Edward, forcing himself to stare down at the floor instead of the blood filling the human's face.

"Bad timing, Everdale," Edward said, recognizing the human who was currently tempting his husband to reconsider his life choices. "Simon, go get Beaufort and have Paul come pick you up early."

That was the only excuse Simon needed to leave. He ran upstairs to their bedroom, careful not to wake the twins up as he texted Paul from Edward's phone, which he swiped from Edward's pocket during his escape.