In His Words

Bella returns home from Europe after a six-month work-study. She takes a

psychology class at UDub dealing with romance and erotic relationships. All

throughout her textbook, there are written comments from its former owner, and

Bella feels drawn to his words, as she tries to find him.

A/N: Beta'd by my queen … Frannie Walsh. I thank her every time I write, create, and

bless our friendship. BUT I stink at typing. If you find mistakes … they are mine.

Come join Fran's FaceBook group, 'It All Started with Twilight.' Facebook groups/ 896806390388220

Chapter Nineteen: Caught by three

EPOV:

Emmett saunters into the living room, sitting across from us. He leans back, stretching

his arms over the sofa, tapping his fingers, looking at the ceiling, and lightly humming. He sighs, dramatically leaning his elbows on his thighs. "Look, I'm all for closeness, but Mom and Dad are parking their car. I was sent up to announce their arrival. You have about five minutes to …" He shakes his head and gestures down the hallway. "Clean up."

Bella groans, running in the direction of my room, hysterically mumbling, "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God."

He stares, "Be prepared, when Mom sees Bella she's going to be extremely excited. So, you know what that means concerning Dad." He wiggles his eyebrows and huffs.

I nod. "Be right back. Thanks." As I run into the hallway, I can hear Emmett, deeply laughing and singing, "I wouldn't take too long, Lil bro, if I were you."

Minutes later, Bella and I are fresh and ready for Mom and Dad. We rush into the kitchen nonchalantly cleaning dishes with racing hearts, as Emmett opens the door. Bella whispers in my ear, "Do I look like I just had sex?"

I frown. "You didn't have sex," I whisper into her ear.

She mumbles, "Well, you know?"' Her face turns pink.

I smile. "No. I'll remedy that later."

She playfully shoves me.

"You look beautiful."

She blushes. "Thanks."

Mom begs loudly whispering to Emmett, "I hope you told them this was all your father's doing."

We silently wash dishes as Mom enters the living room, pleading, "I'm sorry if we're intruding. Your father had this great idea and had to stop by." She gives my dad a wicked side-eye and continues, "What smells so nice in here?"

Emmett proudly answers, "I made brownies and a few treats."

Dad passes mom and helps himself to a huge slice of cake. With a plate in one hand and a fork in the other, he shoves a large piece into his mouth. Chewing, he moans and throws Emmett a thumbs up.

"Yeah, that's Uncle Kyle's recipe."

Dad smiles. "It's actually mine. He's a thief." He brings the fork to Mom's mouth and she forcibly chews. "Very moist." He chuckles. She frowns. "It's mine, though, right, Es?"

She swallows. "Yes, the hint of peppermint was your idea, dear." She clears her throat. "Edward, may I have some water, please?"

"Sure." I grab a clean glass, fill it with ice and water from the fridge, and hand it to her.

"Thank you, Sweetheart." She takes a few sips and smiles at Bella. "Hi, Bella." She opens her arm.

Bella smiles and hugs Mom. "Hi, Mrs. Cullen."

"Esme or Mom. Whatever you feel comfortable with." Her smile broadens.

Bella's eyes widen as she smiles. "I don't know what would be appropriate. I guess, Esme, for now." She looks at me, blushing with a shrug. "And mom … later?"

I nod. "Sounds good."

Dad takes his last bite and looks at Bella. "I don't care what you call me, as long as you call me." He air-plays a cymbal crash. "Ta-daaaah."

We laugh.

We sit around the island, as Dad picks at the plated desserts. "Taste this, Es." He offers Mom a piece of brownie cheesecake. "It's like heaven."

Mom bites into the cheesy chocolatey triangle. "Oh, it's lovely." She pokes Dad. "Don't eat too much chocolate; you'll be up all night."

A devilish stare brightens his boyish smirk, as he kisses her nose. "I thought you liked me up all night."

Emmett gurgles in disgust, "Daaad."

Bella and I look down while Mom smacks his shoulder.

"Carlisle, grow a filter!"

Oh, no.

He wags his eyebrows. "I've already grown …"

Mom squints her eyes and glares him down with the death stare. "That's enough. Behave."

Dad grabs for a chocolate chip cookie. "So, I have this wonderful idea." He licks his fingers.

Bella smiles. "What kind of idea, Daddy C?" She winks at Emmett.

Dad coos, "Oh, I like that. Bella, you keep winning points with me."

She questions with a frown, "You have a point system?"

Mom explains, "Carlisle rates everything from five to one."

Emmett interjects, "Five being the highest."

I roll my eyes.

"How am I doing so far, D.C.?" she asks.

Happily, he swallows his cookie, wiggling his fingers. "All fives."

"Whoo Hoo." She grabs two cookies, hands one to Dad, and they silently clink them together.

I add with great pleasure, knowing Dad will flip, "She also has an amazing singing voice."

"That's extra points. And very important to what I wanted to talk with you about."

Mom mumbles with her hand over her mouth, "Here, it comes."

Dad frowns at Mom. "C'mon, Es. It's a great idea."

"And that is?" I ask.

"My theatre company has an open-stage night and they awarded me the honor to

present whatever I want to do."

I groan, "Dear God."

"Hey, last year, I made them a lot of money," he boasts.

Mom mumbles, "You also donated a lot."

He sighs. But sparks right back up. "I thought about having a Cullen Karaoke Night; all stage tunes by our favorite performers in a Broadway musical. Edward, you and Bella can do The Phantom and Christine's, "Angel of Music" … Yes?"

Bella falls for Dad's charm. "This sounds great. My friend Alice has a stunning voice. Also, Rose loves 'Grease'".

Emmett sings, "Danny and Sandy.'

"That's the spirit. You and Rose can do, 'You're the One that I Want' ... oh, oh, oh, Honey." Dad claps his hands. "I've got chills they're multiplying" … Es, you could sing, 'Don't Know How to Love Him.' And I've always wanted to perform, 'Gethsemane.' This is great."

"Yes, you've always wanted to be God, Dear." Mom coos, patting his cheek.

Bella bites her bottom lip.

And Dad looks at her. " Bella, your friend, Alice, what does she like?"

"Oh, she's a 'Rent' girl."

"Ooh, 'Light My Candle' … She has a boyfriend/husband?"

"Alice has a boyfriend."

"Wonderful. And then, we can do a grand finale, 'One' from 'A Chorus Line'. And we'll have costumes."

"You're thinking too far ahead, Carl," Mom warns him.

"No, no, no, you can never think far enough, Es. This would be so much fun; performing with my family." He turns to Bella. "How do you feel about young children learning show tunes?"

"I think that would be … great?" She smiles like a deer in headlights.

"See? She's all in." Dad looks around smiling. "And I'll make sure I work around all of your schedules and call you tomorrow with the basic details."

I could never say 'no' to him. He seems so happy about this project. And when I glance at Emmett, I know he's thinking the same thing; nodding his head. Mom lovingly smiles at him and every ounce of her love glows from her adoring face. Bella glances back and forth from Mom to Dad with amusement and adoration.

Yeah, we're all fucked.

Once Dad is sure he sucked us all in, he and Mom are ready to leave.

"Don't give him too much, Emmett," she pleads.

He plates the rest of the cake and cookies, handing a bag to Dad.

She scolds, "Emmett, he won't sleep for hours."

Dad smiles, "And you'll reap the benefits of my elated libido, my beauty." He kisses her temple.

"My luck, he'll impregnate me," Mom deadpans.

"Noooo, that can't happen," I moan.

"I have very strong swimmers, "Dad boasts.

"I've passed menopause, but you know your father."

Emmett shakes his head with his hands over his ears. "I can't hear this."

Bella chuckles wiping the tears from her eyes. "I love your parents."

As they walk through the door, we hear my dad, "Esme, let's roleplay motorcycle chick."

Emmett slams the door. "I'm scarred for life." He walks to his room.

And from the other side of the door, "But you're loved, son."

~~IHW~~

Bella and I crawl into my bed. "I'm glad you agreed to spend the night."

"Well, all those sweets and sugar high have drained me. Then again, you are exhausting, Mr. Cullen."

"C'mere," I command, reaching for her. She cuddles into my arms. "It has been an interesting night." I kiss the top of her head.

"Oh, my God, your parents are amazing. But your father, Edward, he's hysterical. He must have been wild to grow up with."

"Yeah, wild."

"Then, I do have my crazy neighbors and their sex games."

"Well, you're safe here."

She smiles and exhales a huge yawn.

"Let's sleep. We have our class with Dale."

"Hmmm, tomorrow will be an interesting day," she hums.

"Why's that?"

"When we walk in together, I think Dr. Radcliff will be quite surprised."

"No, I think Dale's expecting it."

She shyly asks, "Would you rather keep this quiet?"

I examine her face, taking in every ounce of her goodness. Would I rather keep this quiet? "Bella, it's going to take an immense amount of strength to keep me quiet."

She smiles.

"You know, when my dad met my Mom, he was a resident on rounds. He saw her sitting on a chair in a waiting room. She was crying. So, he sat down next to her and asked her what was wrong, handing her his freshly-ironed handkerchief. She carefully dried under her eyes and looked at him. They stared for the longest time. She finally spoke. "Thank you. I love handkerchiefs." He gave her one of his radiant smiles. "Maybe, you'd like to join me for a coffee in about ten minutes. I have one patient to see unless you have somewhere else to go." She smiled again. "I can wait." He stood. "I'll be right back."

Five minutes later, he joined her, and they went down to the cafeteria. They both drank their coffee with cream and two sugars. That's all he needed. He stood on a chair and announced his everlasting love for her; that he found his one."

He told me. "Why waste time holding back my feelings?"

She sighs.

"I always thought he was impulsive. But when you know, you do know."

"He's a true romantic," she says.

I roll my eyes. "With a huge heart and a passion for life. He doesn't waste a minute. And I finally understand."

"Oh, Edward."

"Bella, I don't want to waste any time. I've felt our connection well before we met. Watching Dale's tapes of the class, I always focused on you, and how you expressed your feelings about my comments. Dale urged me to talk to you. He threatened me he'd tell you who I was if I didn't do anything. I just had to be sure. I'm sorry I waited."

"I understand."

I hold her close.

"I have one question."

"Okay."

"What was your mother crying about when your father approached her?"

I frown. "I honestly don't know. I got so wrapped up in Dad's story he never said, and I didn't ask."

We giggle with our heads together. We'll have to ask him.

I

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I

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A/N: Yeah, what was Esme crying about? Better yet, did you like Carlisle?

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