Shaky Ground Chapter 37 on Stars
Shaky Ground Chapter 37 on AO3
Shaky Ground Chapter 37 on FFn
Shaky Ground Chapter 37 on Wattpad
“Edward? Do you mind watching the fort?”
Rose asked, poking her head out of the kitchen. “We’re going to pick up
groceries and some other necessities with Bella for her new digs.”
“Sure, Rose,” Edward nodded.
“We’ll be back,” Alice chirped, dragging
Bella out the door, with Rose and Esme in tow. When the door shut, she turned
to Bella with a smirking grin. “You have some sexy lingerie to buy and when was
the last time you had a wax?”
Oh, boy …
The
afternoon was spent in an impromptu day of beauty. Bella had her toenails
painted, along with a full-body wax. After that, they went to a nearby mall and
picked up some new lingerie, bra and panty sets. They also went to pick up
towels, new sheets and pillows for her new bedroom. A few hours later, they
returned to the apartment with the goodies. The guys were all seated on the
couches in the living room. Emmett had set up the television, along with the
cable and they’d found some sporting event on TV.
“You
got the cable set up,” Bella chirped.
“The
silence was killing me,” Emmett said. “And Edward’s iPod had some pretty shitty
music.”
“Language,
Emmett,” Carlisle said, elbowing Emmett’s side. “Little ears.”
“I’ve
heard worse, Dad,” Jake shrugged. All of the men cringed, remembering Jake’s
shady upbringing. “Can I get something to drink?” Carlisle nodded and Jake
hopped up, walking to the kitchen.
Bella
frowned, shifting uncomfortably on her feet and feeling the pain from the long
day of movement. Jake’s life was so much better now, but it was hard to forget
that he’d such a horrible life prior to this. “I’m going to put this in the
linen closet. Then, we can go out to eat before Edward and I go back to his
place? Pizza or Chinese?”
“Chinese,”
everyone responded, Jake included after he’d finished sipping his water. Bella
nodded, walking to her bedroom and putting her new sheets and towels into the
linen closet. She picked up her bag, tossing her new purchases from Victoria’s
Secret inside. She sat down at a high-back chair, grimacing as she rubbed her
calf muscle and sighing as she remembered Jake’s past. What else had that
little boy experienced? What else did he see?
“Hey,
gorgeous,” Edward said, sitting down on the chair across from her. “You okay?”
“Yeah,”
she said, giving him a stiff smile.
“Really?”
he asked, arching a brow, moving her so she was sitting on his lap. Bella
snuggled against him, idly playing with his freshly cut hair. “Talk to me,
Bella.”
“Just
that little remark by Jake … it makes me wonder … how much did he really see?”
she choked out.
“Carlisle
said that Jake was witness to some pretty gruesome things. He and Esme have
observed his therapy appointments. With that, William Black could have been put
away for long, long time with the
crimes Jake has witnessed,” Edward said. “Starting with his mother’s murder.
His father’s death in the quake was blessing in disguise, really. Saved the tax
payers a lot of money.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “Jake is
resilient. Yes, he had a horrible beginning and a shitty father. But, he’s with
Carlisle and Esme now. They love him.”
“Do
you love him?” Bella asked.
“Very
much so,” Edward answered. “What is it, Bella?”
“I
don’t know. I love Carlisle and Esme and I’m grateful that they’ve taken Jake
in, but what about us? Why couldn’t we have …?” Bella trailed off. Edward’s
eyes widened and she blushed. “Never mind. Stupid thought.”
“No,
not stupid thought. I get it. And I have an answer. Your injury, our fledgling
relationship and subsequent move, it was too much, too fast.” He reached into
his pocket and pulled out a card. “That didn’t stop me from getting approved
for foster care, just in case things didn’t work out with Carlisle and Esme,
but Jake took to them well. But, I think we need to get our friends some food.
Emmett was grumbling that all you have is girly rabbit food.”
“I do not have girly rabbit food,” Bella grumbled.
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