Imperfectpictures

5/28/2019

Episode Twenty-Four: Home

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Episode Twenty-Four: Home

It was one in the afternoon when we finally woke up in bed together. Edward was quiet and sullen. I understood though. I laid my head on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“It can't be over,” he finally said. His tone was almost desperate, pleading.

“It's not forever,” I assured him. But, I was a little scared it was. I wasn't going to tell him that though. I wondered if he had the same fears.

"It's just been so perfect. I don't want it to end." His large hand slid down my bare back, holding my body to his. "It's been like a dream, and I don't want to wake up. Or, maybe I actually died during that stupid jump, and this is my idea of heaven. I'm not sure."

“You are such a romantic soul,” I adjusted so I could look up into his eyes, teasing him just a little bit. “It's just a couple of weeks, really. You'll barely have time to think of me anyway. I've seen your schedule for the next month.”

“I couldn't not think of you if I tried.” He brushed my hair away from my cheek and over my shoulder.

“When you're in New York we can plan my next visit and figure out what videos you want to make when I'm here,” I encouraged him softly. “What do you want to do for your birthday? We'll do whatever you want.”

“I don't know. I'll be happy as long as I'm with you. I don't know if I want to do anything at all, honestly. Stay in bed and order food,” he said wistfully, cupping my cheek as he ran his thumb over it.

“Oh, that sounds nice. Can we do that today as well?” I asked, twisting my legs into his as I became more comfortable.

“Yes, please.” He pulled my face to him, kissing my mouth lightly.

I slipped into his hoodie while we ordered us some breakfast on the computer. Edward wore his basketball shorts to go make us coffee while we waited for our brunch. We relaxed by the pool with a smoke and our mugs while we waited. It was cooler that day, and it felt nice to have the wind on my legs. Edward mindlessly stroked my calves as I lounged on him in the golden California sunshine.

After we ate, we went back to his bed where we just held each other because honestly, we were both a little too hungover. I was his little spoon, feeling so warm and safe. When we finally made love, it was slow and sweet, gentle. He was such a generous lover. Everything about Edward was so intense in those moments.

It was getting dark when we finally got out of bed to get showered.

I put all of my clothes into the wash after and started to pack up the rest of my things. Edward watched from the spare bedroom bed with a little frown.

"Is it okay if I leave some of my makeup and clothes here?" I asked. It made it feel like I was really coming back. "I'm not sure I can fit it all, and I'm going to come back anyway before I can wear any of this in New York. It's going to be in the thirties tomorrow when I get in. It might snow next week from what it said on the weather channel earlier."

“Of course. And if there is anything you want, I can send it to you,” he promised from his seat on the edge of the bed. Anxiety was written all over his perfect face. I hated it. I wanted to kiss it away. Or, maybe fuck it away but I needed to be an adult right then.

All of my new makeup, accessories, shoes, and gifts I bought fit in the original suitcase that I brought with me. I kept a few of my new items in the closet but packed the rest into my big new suitcase, the makeup I was keeping there on the little spare bedroom desk. On top of my suitcase, I laid out the outfit I would wear home. I was going to have to do so many layers because my jacket was a thin one. My ticket sat on top of my outfit. There was nothing else I could do to prepare.

I wasn’t prepared at all.

We ordered a late dinner and watched a movie in his bed. We were asleep before one, both of us tired from all that had happened in the past few days.

It was drizzling when we woke up. It stopped before we left the house for breakfast. We sat in the airport parking lot for an hour because we were early. He tried to talk like he wasn't upset, but I could see it in his eyes. I didn't want to leave, but I was still anxious to get home.

"I need to go inside," I finally said, looking at my phone at the time. No storms were coming to delay my flight.

Edward took my face into his big soft hands and kissed me passionately without a word. I kissed him back, holding his hands against my cheeks. When he pulled away, I turned to kiss his palm.

“Take me with you.”

I laughed quietly, and so did he, but he also sniffled to hold back tears. "You won't fit in my luggage, sadly."

“I'm going to miss you terribly.”

“I'll miss you, too. We'll text. We'll call. There is always Facetime and Skype. And in no time you will be strolling through Central Park and skating at Rockefeller center with me,” I promised him.

“Maybe we can go to a Broadway show together, too.”

"Anything you want. And after the charity show, I'll have almost a full week off with you. We can do whatever you want," I said again.

He looked down at me with such sad, beautiful green eyes. I could see the tears building at the corners. "What if I just want to spend it in your arms?"

“Stop making it so hard to leave,” I begged.

“Never,” he grinned as he kissed me again.

Edward helped me with my bags, and I waited to the last moment to leave him in the lobby. I promised to text him when I arrived home.

The ticket that he purchased me was for a very nice first class non-stop to LaGuardia. I got to wait for an hour in the fancy first class lounge, sad drinking the free champagne with a plate full of snack foods from the spread they had set out.

Jessica from Vaudevillian called while I was waiting, already on my second little plate of cheese, crackers, and cookies. “Hello?” I answered with a mouth full of chocolate chip.

“Hi, Bella! How are you?”

I swallowed, “great, thanks.”

“How was your vacation?” She questioned.

“It was perfect. I'm flying home right now. I'm actually at LAX,” I explained to her.

“Wow! That's awesome. Well, I was calling to get you to come in when you get a chance. We've finalized the spread. Can you come in on Monday or Tuesday of next week?”

The hair on my arms began to stand up as the nerves started to sink in. I really hadn’t thought about the pictures since I sent them. “I can make it in on Monday. Is it... I mean. Can I ask? How did I do? Do you like them?”

“They're great! They're exactly what we were looking for. Can you make it in at one?” She asked brightly.

“I can. I'll see you at one on Monday.” I felt a little numb.

“Fantastic. I'll see you then.” She hung up just as my flight was called. I didn't have any more time to think about what she said or my anxiety over it.

I edited pictures on the flight home and listened to crime podcasts. They didn't help when the airport was all but eerily abandoned when I arrived. Thankfully there were always taxis no matter the time of night, and I rode in the back of a yellow cab the quick fifteen minutes home. The driver sped the whole way. It was midnight when I arrived at the dark hallway on the third floor. I could barely fit myself and my things in the ancient elevator. My entire body hurt, and I was so ready for my couch.

Alice's cat Patricia meowed when I came in. I scratched her back and petted her fluffy tail before dragging my stuff into my bedroom. I put my luggage on the bed with the intention of putting my things away later. I sat on my couch beside it and texted Edward.

“Finally made it.”

“There you are,” Alice said sleepily from the doorway in her Ninja Turtle footie pajamas. “Thought you had run away from home.”

“I was considering it,” I told her as I kicked off my shoes. “I still am.”

“There's Uno's in the kitchen for you.” She leaned against the door frame. “It's pepperoni and ham.”

“Thanks. I'll have it later,” I replied numbly.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. I'm going to sleep until noon tomorrow.” I rubbed my face with both of my hands roughly. My phone beeped beside me, drawing my attention.

Alice nodded understandingly. “I'm leading a day trip tomorrow. I won't be back until late. I'm off Sunday and Monday though.”

“Okay,” I sighed with a little yawn. “I've got to go to Vaudevillian on Monday to talk to Jessica. She said she was happy with the pictures.”

“Well, that's great. You could take the month off if you wanted,” she teased me. “Hibernate for the winter.”

Alice didn't know how right she was. “I might take some time off next year, actually. For real though. I don't know. It depends. I've got so much to tell you about.”

"Sunday. We'll have a day at home, and we'll talk then," she promised me with a yawn.

“Go to bed, You have an early morning,” I told her. “Be careful tomorrow. Take lots of pictures.”

When I was alone, I got changed into a long thermal pair of pajamas and thick socks. My blankets and pillows were already on my couch from before I left. I turned the lights off and crawled into makeshift bed with my phone.

“Was your flight okay?” The message asked.

“It was first class. Of course, it was great,” I texted back. “Thank you. I was champagne drunk though. It makes everything seem nicer. How was your day?”

“Someone else took my picture. I didn't like it. I don't think they did it right. Come back and show them how.”

“It's just because you're salty. I'm sure they were great pictures. You're too pretty for them to be bad,” I assured him. “Be nice to the other photographers. They can't help it that they're not me.”

The screen flashed again. "I suppose you're right, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

I smiled a little bit to myself. “I know. I'm sorry. I'm falling asleep. I'm really tired. I'll text you later.”

“Okay. Sweet dreams, my darling.”

I didn't sleep until noon. I woke up at six in the morning. Restless, I was unable to get comfortable. The jet lag was real. Finally, I gave up and looked at my phone again.

There was already another text from Edward that said, “oh, that's right. I forgot I was an insomniac for a moment there.” It was from an hour before. I hadn't heard the beep.

“It's amazing what that much fucking can do for your sleep,” I typed back with a smirk. I put the phone on my stomach. It instantly buzzed again.

“lol, True. Why are you awake?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I answered back quickly.

“Can I call?” He asked instead of answering.

I called him in response. “Don't you have things to do tomorrow? Don't you have to play video games or something? It's...” I pulled my phone back to look at the time, “three something there.”

“Well, I got used to falling asleep with you in my arms. I tried going to sleep but... here I am, outside, smoking,” he complained. “What are you doing awake?”

“Just couldn't get comfortable,” I told him honestly. “I've got really bad jet lag right now. And I can hear Alice in the shower getting ready for work so I'll stay up to say goodbye to her. She's got a day trip to Amish Country. I'm going to ask her to pick me up some jam and honey, I think. Cheese, probably too. I need to go grocery shopping today. Al lives like you when I'm not around.”

“Poor girl.”

We spoke for a few more minutes as I laid on the couch under my blankets. “The sun is starting to come up. You should see it. It's beautiful,” I told him when I noticed.

He turned his Facetime on, and I smiled into the camera. I looked pale, my nose was red, and my crazy curly hair was poking out from under my beanie that I had worn to bed because I was cold. There were dark circles under my eyes.

“Damn, I am sexy,” I laughed as I walked over to the window.

“You look adorable. Don't worry,” he assured me. Edward looked tired, too.

I opened the blinds completely to show him the great view as the light began to glow behind the Manhattan skyline. There were a bunch of kids running up the block to get to somewhere, and the grocer across from our house was sweeping up in front of the fruits and vegetable bins. It was very peaceful and pleasant.

“What a thing to wake up to,” he mused. “It might be worth waking up early to take that ferry after all.”

"Or, we can just stay out all night. That might be the better choice," I replied. "This place isn't everything, but that view is."

“Why don't you give me the house tour?” He asked.
I laughed a little bit, “okay, well, it'll be pretty short. This wall is basically just the window and my window seat which is actually all my clothes.” I lifted up the seat to reveal the neatly folded fabric inside. “And, there is my bed with all my shit still on it because I was too tired to do anything about it last night. The couch that I normally sleep on, because you know, I'm an adult. My desk. And in the corner we have our musical instrument collection,” I pointed out the corner. “Which is dusty as hell at this point. I guess Alice didn't fuck around with them while I was away.”

“Do you play an instrument?” He asked in surprise.

I hadn't even really realized it hadn't come up. I didn't like talking about myself that much though. And then I realized we had only known each other for less than a month. It felt as if he should have known everything about me already. I was instantly so comfortable around him like we had been friends forever before we started dating. I hadn’t been playing much lately and hadn’t even really thought about it.

“I play the piano and violin pretty well, the guitar and bass kinda sorta and banjo terribly because I'm a damn hipster, I guess. Alice can play the viola, bass, and piano as well. We all did music together. Rose, too. She did the flute and the piano a little, too.”

Edward was totally shocked. “Jesus, you are your own band. And you can sing, too. Wait, you said you had a degree in music, didn't you?”

“That I'm really not using. I minored in photography.” I showed him the degree from NYU on the wall. “I also studied a program at Julliard for a hot second. It was only a class for a semester.”

“Why didn't you tell me you were so accomplished?” He asked curiously.

"Because I'm not? Lots of people study music, and some can make a living off of it. I'm not passionate enough about it to do so. Or, good enough at it," I told him truthfully. "I quickly became disillusioned of the possibility in my early early twenties.”

“Were you in a band or anything?”

“Uh...” I drew out the sound. “I guess you could say that. I was a part of a few different orchestras at different times. Mainly in school. Not like any rock bands though. I haven't been in any a few years though.”

“You'll have to play for me one day.”

“Mm, let me practice first,” I smiled as I heard Alice in the kitchen. I went through my folding doors and was greeted by a screaming cat. “This is Patricia's room,” I said as I clicked on the light to the foyer. To one side was our bookshelves and one corner was sectioned off with a dressing screen. There was a series of empty shelves, a box for kitty litter, and a six-foot-tall cat tree. Patty jumped to eye level and meowed at me.

“Oh, wow. She's loud,” he said as I showed him the cat. She was a long haired calico.

“She's a lying ass whore who has been fed this morning. Don't yell at me, Patty Cat. I see the crumbles in your bowl.” I rubbed her chin. She purred but meowed again.

“She's been fed!” I heard shouted from the kitchen.
“I know,” I shouted back. “She's loud, too,” I said into the phone with a smile.

I came into the kitchen to find Alice making herself a travel mug of hot tea with lots of honey and eating a doughnut from a white box. She was wearing blue jeans and was looking puffy from her several layers of shirts. Her short curly black hair was pulled back in a fluffy ponytail. She looked angry to be awake.

“Did I wake you?” She asked in a mumble.

“Nope,” I answered, showing her the phone.

“Hello,” Edward said cheerfully to her. Alice's eyes grew wide when she realized.

"Oh! Good morning!" She rushed over to stand beside me. Alice was about a half a foot taller in her heeled boots, and she hunched down so that we were in the frame together. "Nice to meet you. I've heard nothing about you."

He chuckled, smoke curling from his lips. “Well, I've heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, no. I'm sorry. Don't believe any of her lies,” she said dryly.

“So, you're both like this?” He asked me seriously.

“Ha! Yeah, we are. All three of us actually. Rosalie, too,” Alice laughed evilly. “Alright, I need to go pick up the van. I love you. Have a good day.” She kissed my cheek. “I look forward to talking about you in great detail later.”

“Hopefully good things,” he replied.

“She will tell me everything,” Al warned him. “Everything.”

“Mostly good,” I promised him. I called to Alice, “text me when you get there. I have things I want you to pick up for me!”

“Alright!”

I sat at our kitchen table with my head in my hand. “Mr. Cullen, you're going to be terrible tomorrow if you don't get a few hours of sleep. Go to bed.”

“But, you won't be there,” he sighed sadly. “Alright. You are correct, Ms. Swan. Go back to bed for a while. You look exhausted.”

“I will. I'm just going to eat the rest of this box of doughnuts first.”

I ate while listening to a podcast, having three doughnuts and a mug of tea from Alice's leftovers. As much as I wanted to go back to sleep, I was too wound up. First I decided to try to take a shower to relax, but that didn't do anything but wake me up further. I put away my clean clothes. I needed some more storage for my new makeup.

I went to the cafe at the corner of my building for breakfast, picking up an egg sandwich and a juice. I ate as I walked to the dollar store down the block with my little rolling cart. It was surprisingly quiet. Next, I visited a couple of different small markets to pick up all the different groceries we were lacking.

I was too anxious to relax once I got home, so I ended up doing a week's worth of meal prep for us. I froze us little lasagnas to bake whenever we wanted them, roasted some chicken for burrito bowls and chicken salad before putting the chicken bones in the pressure cooker to make broth. When it was done, I used it to make a vegetable soup. I even ended up making peanut butter cookies and a big pitcher of unsweetened tea as well.

I had the soup for supper with a chicken salad sandwich. I played an audiobook in the background while I edited pictures. It was almost one in the morning when Alice got home. I waited for her to say goodnight before I went to bed. Before I did, I took a picture of the moon behind the Empire State Building with my phone to send to Edward to say goodnight. It was getting late, but I knew he was still up.

He sent a picture back of Tyler, Seth, and himself sitting at the dinner table eating more Zankou's chicken with the caption, “we need you to tell us about murder.”

I smiled to myself. “I bet Seth knows the story. Get some good sleep tonight.”

I took some cold medicine to finally help me fall asleep. I slept until noon the next day. Alice came stumbling out of her room not long after. We went into her room to sit on her nicer couch, vape her weed, and order breakfast. She wanted waffles, and I didn't have the energy to make them for her. I wasn't about to turn down free food from her either.

It was going to take an hour for our food to arrive so we had time to talk. We talked about her trip first. It was pretty uneventful in general. She waited until the second bowl of weed before she finally said, “so... tell me everything.” Al wanted to get me nice and loose before she got all the details. I knew her ways.

“I don't even know where to start,” I admitted to her.

“How? How on earth did it happen?”

I was stretched out like I was a therapist couch with my feet on her lap. “Uh... I guess we got along right away. He was just so funny and generous. And sensitive and shy-”

“He doesn't seem shy,” she seemed incredulous.

I sighed as I considered how to explain him to her. “Edward's a good actor. And, good with people. He's got the ability to know these little details and make a person feel special when he's talking to them. But, that's genuine. He wants people to feel special. Anyway... We started flirting right away, I guess. Then on the day of the jump, I kissed him. Just a peck for luck, though.”

She wasn't entirely shocked. I had always been rather aggressive when it came to romantic relationships. “So, you kissed him out of nowhere first?”

“I actually gave this English bro a kiss on the cheek first because he asked and he was flirting with me. I think I wanted to make Edward jealous, to be honest. I mean, it wasn't on purpose at the time. Well, maybe a little. But, it worked, and he got all dramatic. So I kissed Edward on the forehead afterward."

“Aw, how sweet,” Al said cutely.

"But, that was just in front of the cameras. When they weren't around I just... kissed him again. Quick, on the lips. I didn't even really think about it. And then we had to go to an after party that night. Well, he had to, and I went as his date because he asked me before the jump. I got pretty drunk, and we danced. God, he is such a good dancer, too. Anyway... He was pretty straightforward about his feelings that night, but I'm a doorknob, apparently. I was drunk though, to be fair. He was really sweet to me that day. He said so many kind things."

Alice drew a long hit into her lungs, blowing it out after a second. “What did he say exactly?”

"He told me how good of a person I was and that if I kissed him, it would be an honor, but that was for a crowd. It was a little silly. I thought he was just playing it up. But, at the club, he told me he was 'fond' of me and actually offered me a job. I think he just was trying to figure out a way to make me stay a little longer." I smiled as I remembered it. I took the smoke from her, taking my own little hit before offering it back to her. She was the one doing most of the smoking.

Alice took the vape from my hand, clicking the temperature up, so it made more smoke. "What kind of job exactly?"

“Doing photography for his channel.”

“Wonder what that pays,” she mused.

I sighed, “I don't know, exactly. I'll tell you about that later though actually. That's a whole other thing.”

“Alright. What happened after he offered you a job?”

"Nothing. I declined, and we danced some more. We got in really late. Sundays are usually his day off if he can work it out that way, but he planned a day just for me. Eddie took me to the zoo and to the beach at sunset. Not that he would have said that he did it just for me at the time. When I was there, I was just so absorbed in him. I didn't even check the weather or read the news." I wrapped my sweater more tightly around me. "I wanted to be around him so entirely that I just zoned out. That storm snuck up on me."

“It seemed kind of scary. There were some mudslides and flooding from what I read. I was a little bit worried for you,” Alice said thoughtfully, passing the vape back to me.

"That wasn't really near us. He lost a bunch of ice cream from the power being out, but that's it," I explained. "A lot of wind mainly. The lightning was scary though, at points. There was a strike not too far from his house that hit a pole. Made the whole house shake."

“So, what happened? Obviously, you didn't just stay that long because of the weather and a couple of kisses.”

"No. He asked me to stay. That morning when I was supposed to fly out he... I... we," I laughed as I thought about it, putting my arm over my eyes while taking a longer hit. "Edward came into my room really early. He's like us and not really a morning person, so I wasn't expecting a goodbye because we had them the night before. But, then he told me that he cared for me. And Jessica called, interrupting us. Told me the flight had been canceled. Since she was the one who set it all up, it forwarded the cancellation emails to her as well and I hadn't seen them yet. The flights were canceled for a couple of days, and they were booked solid a couple of days after trying to catch up," I explained to her. "And... I don't know. I just jumped him, Al. I thought about it before how wanted him, but I didn't want to be his one-night stand. But, Eddie isn't that kind of guy. God, I needed that so much."

"How was it?" She leaned in a little when she asked. I gave her back the small black vape pen.

I chewed on the edge of my thumb. “It's probably the best sex I've ever had if I'm honest. Though it might just be that he's super fucking hot and I’m horny as hell.”

“Well,” she laughed, “it doesn't hurt. And, he's how old exactly?”

“He'll be twenty-five in a couple of weeks. On the twenty-third. Eddie wants to spend his birthday with me here,” I told her with a smile. “I made an appointment online for birth control this week.”

“What an easy birthday gift,” Alice teased. “His birthday is close to Aiden's,” she said more seriously, softly.

“I know,” I said quietly. “He's flying in the day after probably.”

“How does that make you feel?”

“I don't know if I can handle another Scorpio,” I joked, not really wanting to talk about that subject right then.

Alice began typing on her phone, going to look the information up. “Actually, I think he'd be a Sagittarius.”

“You know that means literally nothing,” I teased. She shrugged and handed me back the weed. Al got a wicked little smile on her face as she thought of something.

“Is he... as big... as you feared?”

I laughed which was the reaction she wanted. "No. He's not freakishly long or anything, but he's... um... thick. I'd say meaty, but that sounds wrong. Horribly wrong." She laughed with me, "And he is uncircumcised which is new for me. But the thing is that he has figured out that I'm embarrassingly easy very quickly and now he's trying to get a new high score every night. He probably has a notebook somewhere with a tally. He’s that kind of guy.”

Alice cackled, “I am so jealous. About being that easy, mainly.”

“Girl, he is determined. It feels like a nice dirty dream," I told her as the buzzer went off for the door. She rushed off to get our breakfast. We ate and watched a show on her television as we did. After we had eaten, we settled into a long afternoon of editing pictures from our trips. We continued to talk about Edward, the money situation, and my visit with him.

“So, what happens after Thanksgiving?”

“I don't know,” I answered truthfully. “He'll be filming in December. I have that airline credit to go see him. And I'm doing okay right now money wise. But, I can't expect someone so young and handsome... rich, too... to stay in a long distance relationship after only know each other a couple of weeks though. Let's be honest here.”

“Hm, from what you've told me he seems like someone who likes to be in a relationship.” She didn't look up from her screen. We had our best conversations this way.

“And, that might actually be worse,” I pointed out to her. “What if he finds someone there that would be good for him? And he misses his chance because of me. A bitter old woman two thousands of miles away.”

Alice finally glanced over at me. “First, let's be clear: no one is better than you. You’re awesome. That is just your fear speaking. Don’t be stupid.”

“You're biased.”

“Sure, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong,” she replied firmly. “You should think about the ‘what if' if it does work out. What could happen, you know?”

“It's a big if.”

“Everything is a big if,” Alice retorted shortly.

My phone beeped at me. It was just after two in the afternoon for us. It was a picture of Edward still in bed, one eye opened. The caption said 'sleeping is for suckers.'

“You don't have to work today. Go back to bed,” I answered him back.

“I tried.”

“Did you get any sleep?” I asked.

“Only a couple hours. I edited all last night. I'm probably just going to get up and edit all day anyway. Are you having a good day at least?” He asked back quickly. Edward was a much faster typer than I was.

“It's been alright. I've been describing our sex in great detail over waffles,” I told him, only half joking.

“lol, sounds fun. Should I be worried?”

“She’s just disappointed I don't have pictures,” I teased him.

“Next time,” Edward sent three winky faces to me. I bit my lip a little, a soft flush covering my cheeks.

“You are smiling at your phone,” Alice rolled her eyes but grinned at her laptop screen.

Back: Episode 23

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