La Cantante

Nightmares and Renee

Author's Note: I own NONE of this. No copyright infringement is intended. I just wanted to borrow the characters and play with them.

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Chapter Fifty-Seven: Nightmares and Renee

EPOV

Bella was home.

Bella was going to be okay, physically.

I was concerned about her emotional health, though.

I knew I would have to talk to her, to encourage her to go to the counseling center. That first night home, Bella had such violent nightmares. She thrashed in the bed. She even connected with my jaw and I could feel the bruise forming on my face. I gathered her in my arms and held her close, willing the nightmares away. I hummed her lullaby until she calmed down and fell heavily against my chest. Even in death, Jacob is haunting her dreams. If he wasn't already dead, I'd hunt him down and kill that fucker. I eventually fell asleep, holding my poor, broken girl against my chest.

The next morning, my alarm went off early and I slipped out Bella's arms. She didn't have any more nightmares, which was a good thing. I don't think my body could handle another right hook. I hopped into the shower and scrubbed the hospital smell from my body. After my shower, I walked out and began my ritual of shaving. I looked at my face and I was gnarly. I had finished shaving and I looked more like myself. I still had dark circles under my eyes and a bruise was on the left side of my face. Bella had really clocked me. After dressing, I walked into the kitchen and found Charlie sitting at the table, drinking some coffee.

"Mornin' Edward," he said carefully.

"Good morning, Charlie. How did you sleep?" I asked.

"Quite well. That bed in the office is quite comfortable," he said as he sipped his coffee. He stared at me, his eyes filled with concern, wary. "I heard Bella's screams last night."

"Yeah, she had a rough night," I murmured sadly. I poured myself a cup of coffee and drank it black. "Even though Jacob's dead, he's still tormenting her."

"He got what was coming to him. I always thought he was a good kid. A bit misguided, but a good kid. That all changed two years ago when he fucked with my daughter," Charlie seethed. "What happened to your face?"

"Bella's hand connected with my jaw when she was having a nightmare," I chuckled darkly.

"Damn, she's got a strong arm," Charlie teased.

"That's not all that's strong," I said. "Do you want some breakfast? I was going to make French Toast for Bella. She hasn't eaten much since she left the hospital."

"Sounds good, Edward," Charlie said with a crinkled smile.

"Why don't you have a seat in the living room and turn on the television? I'll call you when breakfast is ready," I said with a crooked smirk. I gathered the ingredients for the French toast. I made the batter and pulled out the large frying pan and placed it on the stove, heating it up with some oil. I dunked several slices of bread into the batter and put them into the pan. As the bread cooked, I took out some strawberries and cut them up and put them into a small cup, pouring a bit of sugar on them. I finished Charlie's breakfast and called him into the kitchen. He thanked me for the food and dug in. I made Bella's breakfast and put it onto a small tray, along with a cup of coffee, made the way she liked it, strawberries and some warm syrup. I carried the tray to the bedroom and slipped inside. "Bella?"