Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Edward

I gripped the hand rest tight, feeling my heart speed up once again. The plane had been shaking slightly every few minutes, reminding me of the crash. It scared the shit out of me, and I wished someone had a sleeping pill to give me. Mrs. Cope had no trouble, however; she'd fallen asleep right away on my shoulder, drooling away.

The plane jerked to the right, hard, and I yelped loudly, grabbing my overexerted heart. Mrs. Cope finally woke up with my jump and looked up at me, confused.

"Something wrong?" she asked, taking in my terrified form. The flight attendant stared at me like I had shit on my head.

I rubbed my chest, trying to make my heart slow down so it would jump out of my body. I took a deep, shaky breath and shook my head. "No, just freaking out again."

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and patted my arm. "How much longer?"

"About thirty minutes ago they announced it would be one more hour, so about a half hour, I think. Wish it was sooner. I don't think my nerves can take much more of this."

It was nearing midnight by the time we reached France. Mrs. Cope was falling asleep again, and I was exhausted after ten hours on a plane. A local airport two hours away from Paris had given us permission to land there, and Mrs. Cope handed me a passport when we walked off. It had my name and picture and all my information.

"How the hell did you manage to get this?" I asked, confused. My original passport had gone down with Flight 1107.

"Don't ask. Just thank your father's large bank account." She talked to a woman at the entrance, making sure we wouldn't be harassed and chased with cameras at the airport. The woman led us through the sliding doors, and I noticed the wall televisions all turned on the news. My face was on the TV, as well as Mrs. Cope's, from when we'd walked out of the hospital. It was very strange to see myself on every television in sight. I hadn't really looked in a mirror in so long, but seeing myself on the big screens, I realized how different I looked. It wasn't a drastic change, but I still saw every adjustment. My face was thinner, a bit sunken in. My beard was gone, so I could see how much more my jaw line stuck out. My hair was longer, making it twice as messy.

I looked…older.

A few people stared at us as we strode by, but luckily, no one dared to take a picture or follow. We climbed onto a bus after retrieving what little luggage we had.

I looked to Mrs. Cope and cocked an eyebrow, silently asking what she planned to do next.

"Let's just get a hotel for the night," she said, yawning. "I'm sure Paris will still be there in the morning, and I doubt anyone is awake anyway."

I smiled at that. Alice was most certainly awake, probably obsessing over something for her wedding. In a few hours, she would be a lawfully wedded woman, and I was sure just that fact was freaking her out right about now. Jasper was probably sleeping like a baby, not at all worried about any of it. I chuckled, my sleepy imagination running away with me.

We grabbed a room at the closest hotel we could and Mrs. Cope passed out quickly. I, however, sat down on the windowsill and stared out at the stars. I wondered what time it was back in Florida and whether my Bella was looking at the same sky I was looking at. Had she woken shortly after I left, immediately asking for me? Was she terribly angry with me? I hoped not, but I completely understood if she felt that way.

I wished ten o'clock would come more quickly so that I could hurry up and see my family, and then rush back to the States. I cringed slightly-that meant another plane ride.

I was very, very tired, but I couldn't stop my mind from wandering. I leaned my forehead against the cool glass of the window and sighed. The more I looked up at the stars, I could make out a perfect constellation of two beautiful, wide set, doe-shaped eyes.

I missed my girl, and I wished I had never left. Someone was definitely going to tape the wedding, and I could have just seen it in the future. I could have kept trying to call my family instead of flying all the way over here. I should have woken Bella up and held her close to me, assuring my love for her and promising that we would finally move forward after all the fuss was over.

At the very least, I should have left her a note. Oh, God, I felt like such an idiot. I gripped my hair, furious with myself for not having thought about that. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity and got into bed. I tossed and turned for a while, unable to quit badgering myself.

I sort of felt bad for not wanting to be here; I hadn't seen my family in two months, and still I wanted to jump on the next plane back to Florida with no concern of how they'd feel about it. And then I felt bad about feeling bad, because if I would miss the wedding and rejoin Bella, she would be disappointed that I put her before my family. Or would she be completely happy if I ignored them for her? That didn't sound like her, though. I tried to push these thoughts away; I was here now, and that was all that mattered until I could get back to the USA. I would go to the wedding and have a happy reunion with my family and then go home and have a happy reunion with Bella.

I did successfully stop thinking about everything that was going on, but every time I closed my eyelids, I saw her. Bella, running in the sand. Bella, swimming naked with bubbles coating her skin, her gorgeous legs moving surprisingly graceful as she circled me. Bella, moaning my name loudly, her breasts bouncing below me in sync with my thrusts.

I'm going to miss that island. The thought ran through my mind before I could stop it. It seemed like one of those "be careful what you wish for" moments. For so long, Bella and I wanted to get off that island, but now I wished we had a little more time there. That is, if Bella hadn't broken her ankle.

At first, when we found the little spit of land, we thought it was going to be hard. Impossible to survive. And it was…difficult. But if there was anything I had learned on that island, it was this: a human can adapt to anything. But it wasn't just adapting. We had thrived there. If it wasn't for our families and the possibility of getting hurt without medical help, I would grab Bella and return in a heartbeat.

I knew I sounded like a girl, but the island had been magical. It was a lot better than the place I was now, for sure. It was a hell of a lot easier, too. I sounded like a caveman, wanting to take Bella and hide her from the world, keep her all to myself where the world was simple and the only thing we really worried about was the storms.

I stared at the ceiling, the paint peeling away in several places.

I think I fell asleep a while later, but there was no telling with the digital clock in military time. I was too lazy to translate it to regular time.

"Edward! Wake up!" I felt something soft hit my shoulder hard, and my eyes flew open.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled sleepily. I blinked sleep from my eyes and tried to focus on the stocky form in front of me.

"Edward! I slept late! It's already eight thirty!" Mrs. Cope shouted. I jumped from the bed and looked at her.

"We'll never make it in time now!" she said.

"Yes we will!" I ran to the bathroom, grabbing the first shirt and jeans I could find. I dressed quickly, skipping the shower. Mrs. Cope and I brushed our teeth at the same time, fighting over the one sink.

Mmm, toothpaste.

We ran out of the hotel room and onto the street. I got us a taxi while pulling on my shoe.

We jumped into the yellow car and when the man asked me where to go, I said, "The…Basilique du…," I tried to think of the damn name, "Sacre-Coeur!"

Mrs. Cope slammed the door, and I instantly panicked. We didn't have any French money. The taxi driver groaned.

"Is too far! You take bus!" he yelled at me angrily. Mrs. Cope threw some foreign bills onto the front seat with the man, and he grabbed them, shutting up quick.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked.

"I had them from the last time we came here," she explained.

I looked down at my lap dumbly. If I didn't have Ms. Cope, I would be pretty screwed right now. I felt like an irresponsible child, unable to help with anything.

The first hour of the ride was silent. The driver put the radio on some French station, and I even recognized some of the songs from when my old high school teacher would make us sing along. I stared out the window at the beautiful scenery, trying to ignore the emptiness in my chest. I hadn't eaten in so long, and I could feel it getting to me, but I knew if someone shoved a five dollar foot long in my face, I wouldn't even be able to take one bite. Did every man feel this when he was separated from the one he loved? I couldn't even imagine how much worse it would be if we broke up. I would either starve to death or go crazy.

Those thoughts brought out another fear.

Oh, God, what if she doesn't want me when I get back? What if she's so angry with me for leaving that she leaves herself? Now I was just being irrational again; Bella couldn't leave because she had surgery the day before. But there was still the nagging thought of her not wanting me when I returned.

Yeah, you should have woken her up before you left, doofus. Smart move, you idiot.

And now I was even talking to myself in my mind. I would not be right again until I was with her. All my time spent with her on the island had made me dependent…and pathetic. Not so much dependent on her helping me, no-that wasn't it. I was dependent on her company and her love. Going so long having and wanting just her, she felt like a drug to me.

And now I was having withdrawals.

A while later I looked at the clock, and it read 10:00, which was the time when the wedding started.

"Could you drive faster, please?" I asked the driver, my impatient tone mismatching my words.

"We get there at ten thirty," he responded, glaring at me in the rearview mirror.

I'm going to miss Alice walking down the aisle.

Mrs. Cope patted my hand, probably thinking the same as me.

Finally, thirty minutes later, we pulled into a parking lot near the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. It was paper-white, and beautiful. I had to crane my neck just to see the top of it.

"C'mon!" I said to Mrs. Cope. I wanted to run, but I couldn't leave the poor old lady on her own. We walked quickly to the side doors of the church and saw many tourists visiting the bottom floor. I guessed the wedding would be held on the second floor, so I took Mrs. Cope's hand and led her to the nearest staircase, ignoring the CLOSED sign. I ran up the first staircase, quickly trying to find the next one. I had no idea where I was, but I could faintly hear a pipe organ playing music. I could feel myself getting closer, and just the thought of my family being in the same building as me gave me goosebumps.

Then I ran into a security guard. At first, he was kind to me, talking quickly in French, probably telling me I wasn't allowed here. Or maybe he was asking if I was the long lost brother of the bride? Yeah, right. If only my life was so lucky. He was the only one, though, and he was short and stocky. When I made sure there was no gun on him, I ran past him. He called after me angrily, chasing me, but I knew there was no way he'd catch me.

"Non! Vous ne pouvez aller là! Arrêtez! C'est uniquement pour les personnes avant une invitation!"

"Edward! You're going to get us in trouble!" I heard Mrs. Cope shout.

I ignored both of them and ran up another staircase, still not having a clue as to where I was going. The stairs took me up into a room that resembled an attic, with old wooden chairs and spider webs everywhere. I was about to turn around and go back when I saw a screen to my far right.

Looking closer, I saw that it was not a screen, but a large window. I walked over to it and looked out, but instead of seeing outside the church, I was looking into the hall. There were chandeliers hanging in the large room right across from where I stood, huge white ribbons coating the pillars. The big painting of Jesus and some angels was lit up, and I looked down.

There was Alice. And Jasper. And a priest. My sister and her fiance were kneeling, doing whatever they do at weddings. I was at a loss for words, simply touching the glass in front of me. Alice turned her head to look at Jasper, and even though I was so far up and away, I could still see her smile. Seeing my sister's face-well, really just her profile-after so long made me smile like a maniac. She turned her head back to face the priest, and I looked at the guests sitting below me.

I saw my dear Uncle Darren, his blond afro making it impossible to mistake him. My Aunt Jemma was sitting next to him, whispering to the lady next to her. I could make out other people, Jasper's parents, Alice's friends from back home.

I saw the back of my mom's head, leaning on my dad's shoulder. I smiled slightly at the look of them, just imagining what they were thinking right now.

A few minutes later Alice and Jasper got up and faced each other, said their vows and kissed. Then they faced me, but I knew they wouldn't just see me; I was over twenty feet above them.

I could hear footsteps coming up the staircase. Fuck. The guard had found me. He started cursing at me in French again and pulling my arm to make me move.

"I'm her brother!" I told him, pointing below at Alice. He didn't understand me, or maybe he was just ignoring me. I thought back to my French classes.

"Sa frère! Sa frère!" I said, pointing at me and then Alice again, but he still kept pulling on me. I fought him off and looked back through the window. The married couple was walking back down the aisle, and I had to get Alice's attention before I got arrested.

Feeling extremely like Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate, I started banging on the glass and waving to make Alice see me. "ALICE!" I shouted over and over. The security guard got back up and took hold of my waist to make me move. I pushed him with one hand and banged on the glass with the other.

Oh, man, am I in deep shit if they don't see me.

Finally, Jasper must have heard my commotion and looked up, meeting my eyes. His jaw dropped and he stopped walking abruptly. Alice noticed his hesitation and looked to see what was distracting him. I smiled wide and started jumping up and down when she saw me. Her jaw dropped, too, and she looked back at Jasper and asked him something. He shook his head and they both looked back at me. The guests started to notice, too, and I saw my mom run over to Alice, looking up at me.

More guards came to help the man trying to restrain me, and I couldn't fight off all of them. They pulled me away from the window and back down the stairs. A cop handcuffed me and started leading me out.

"No! My sister's the bride! You can't do this! Just ask her! Please!" I shouted. I tried to dig my heels into the floor to keep him from taking me. Then I saw a big blur of white, fluffy and thick and suffocating me.

"You're alive! Oh, Edward!" Alice's voice cried. Her arms gripped me tight and her veil was in my face. "Let him go! He's my brother!" The handcuffs came off in a second, but then I was strangled by more arms and fancy dresses.

"Edward!"

"You're really here?"

"I thought you were dead!"

"What happened?"

I looked into Alice's watery eyes and said, "Sorry I'm late."

She made a noise between a sob and a chuckle. "Well, you could have at least dressed a little nicer." Everyone burst out laughing.

I smile and fought myself out of the chaotic hugs and kisses, looking for a different face. My momma.

Her green gaze met mine, and I saw that there were tears in her eyes. She was standing by my dad, just looking at me, not moving. I walked over to her slowly, and once I got close, her arms shook as she opened them wide for me. She held me as tight as her little arms would allow, and I smelled her caramel hair. It smelled like her garden, just like it always had, and that comforted me to no end. She pulled back to look at me and wiped the tears away from my face.

"You're really here, son? I'm not dreaming?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Yes, I'm here, Momma," I said. My dad hugged us both.

When we pulled away again, I looked around at everyone.

"Don't any of you know how to answer a damn phone?"

We rode to the reception in a limo, all of us together because Alice didn't want to be separated for even ten minutes.

"So then, we found this little piece of land, and we were both starving, so we swam to it as fast as we could. Been there ever since." I explained our survival to my family on the way there.

Emmett shook his head before giving me a noogie. I fought myself out of his clutches and glared at him. "Sorry, bro. I just thought I'd never be able to do that again. I couldn't help myself." I tried to fix my hair again.

"So how'd you get off the island?" My father asked, still wanting to hear the rest.

"The Coast Guard came a few days ago and got us. Bella's ankle got broken the day before that, so we were lucky."

"Bella. Huh, why does that name ring a bell?" My mom said to herself. She looked at me strangely the whole time I talked about everything that had happened, like she was trying to figure something out. I didn't explain how Bella and I had fallen in love. I figured I would tell them at a more appropriate time.

Emmett laughed a little before saying, "So you were stuck on an island with a girl for two months, eh, Eddie? What'd you do for fun, huh? Play catch?"

I rolled my eyes at him but said nothing. Let them think what they want. My mom just kept looking at me with that strange expression. She noticed that I caught her and looked away, saying, "Well, you're here now. That's all that matters. I'm so sorry we never got your calls, Edward. I never kept my phone with me, and we were just so busy with everything."

"Well," I said, looking over to Rosalie with a smirk, "apparently one of you actually answers." She burst out crying, and I felt horrible and happy at the same time.

"I'm so sorry, Edward! I really thought it was a prank call! I swear!" she said.

"What are you talking about, Rose?" Emmett asked, confused.

"Edward called on your phone while you were in the shower, and it was an unknown number, so I answered. He told me it was him and I thought it was someone playing a sick joke! We could've known he was alive days ago had I listened!" she said.

"It's okay, Rose. It's no big deal," I said, silently happy with her apologizing. I'd never heard her do it before, and this was good enough payback.

We arrived at the reception then, and I went straight to the food before I could get attacked by anyone else.

I grabbed a plate of nothing but shrimp poppers and sat down. Bella was still in the back of my mind, but with all the happiness around me, it was a bit easier to ignore for the time being. As soon as this reception was over, I was going back to America. I heard Alice's tinkling little laugh as I stuffed my face.

"I guess the shrimp poppers won't be wasted after all," she said happily.