Chapter 2 – Last Day


Bella's POV ~

My mother was furious with me for returning home so late.  It took me the usual hour to return home, but when I had walked into the kitchen, the place was in an uproar.  She had needed my help getting supper ready, along with getting the bread baked, as we were expecting four more people for supper that evening. I apologized profusely and told her that I had fallen asleep and hurried back as quickly as I could.  I hadn’t known that we were having extra guests over for supper and that it would take longer than usual to prepare the meal.  I felt guilty telling a lie to my mother, but I couldn't tell her the truth, I knew that.  Especially if I wanted to go back there tomorrow.  Although, I would have to think of a different excuse as the wildflowers obviously wouldn't hold up.

To make it up to her and get back on her better side, I ate my dinner quickly and began clean-up in the kitchen before she had a chance to.  I finished all of the dishes, even with the extras, and prepared the dough for the next day's bread.  I needed her to let go of her anger so that I would be able to have some free time the next day...and hopefully the day after that, too?

As I prepared the dough for baking, my mind wandered to Edward Masen.  There was something about him that seemed so different.  Obviously, everything about him was different, but I found myself wanting to spend more time with him.  Me, the introvert, who kept to herself and was shy to a fault.  I had never been one to crave the company of others.  I had always preferred the solitude, the quiet - at least up until now it seemed.

As I buttered the tops of the bread dough, my mind wandered even further to the mess that was Edward Masen's hair.  I had never seen hair that long on a man before, and styled like that - if you could call it a style.  It looked like more of a mess than anything.  When Edward had first run me over and then checked to see if I was alright, he’d had a red paisley handkerchief on his head hiding his hair, but as he had become more comfortable, he had removed it.  I’d almost laughed when I first saw it, but had held it in, as that would have been rude.  I couldn't deny that part of me wanted to touch it, and that astounded me.

My mother came in just as I was putting the dough in the oven to bake.  I immediately began to clean up the mess I had made for the next day's breakfast preparation.

"Isabella, you cleaned up the kitchen for me?"  My mother sounded quite surprised.

"Yes, Mother.  I wanted to apologize for being late this afternoon and help clean up the mess from tonight's supper," I replied.  It was mostly honest.  I also wanted to get on her good side so she would allow me to pick flowers the next day.  Well, that was what I planned to tell her I would be doing since the flowers picked earlier in the day had wilted.

And so went the next twelve days.  Except for Edward's non-working weekends, I met him at our special place every day.  I made up various excuses to be gone from the farm for extended periods, which my mother never questioned, but I also made sure that I was doing plenty of extra work to keep her happy.  She was never found wanting in regards to needing help from me and that kept her satisfied with my chores and my desire to work.

I began to grow dependent on my time with Edward.  I couldn't quite figure out what it was that was so intriguing about him.  He had his beauty, and he was very kind to me, but that wasn't necessarily something that was different from Amish boys.  He was older than me, and he knew so many things about the world around him.  I knew that it intrigued me, but still, it was him that lured me there everyday.

On our thirteenth day together, he told me that the next day would be our last.  He was done with this job and had to move on to another.

"Could you possibly get more time away tomorrow, Bella?"  He asked me after finishing a drink from his canned beverage.

"I'm not quite sure.  I will have to get up a little earlier than usual, but that shouldn't be a problem.  I will ask my mother to wake me when she gets up.  That will be about an hour earlier than I usually do.  How much more time are you requesting?" I asked.  My heart sped up a little at the acknowledgement that he wanted to spend more time with me. 

"Tomorrow is our last day.  I want to do something special.  I..." he stopped and looked down at the grass.  "...I don't want to go to another job, Bella.  I want to come to this job every day for as long as possible, so I can continue to see you." 

He said the last part very quickly and my brain translated it a few moments after he said it.  "Oh. OH!  I, ah..." I stumbled and bit my lip as I tried to sort out what was in my head and what I felt in my heart.  I knew I felt the same way he did, but could I tell him that?  Would it make a difference?  I decided it didn't matter, he deserved to know.

"I feel the same way, Edward, but where does that leave us?"  My lip trembled and I felt my eyes beginning to well.  I didn't want to cry in front of him, but I couldn't fathom never seeing or speaking to him ever again.  I had to do something.

I looked into his face and watched his eyes change from fear to...compassion? 

"Hey there.  Please don't cry, Bella.  Shhh," he crooned. 

He moved to hug me, and instinctively, I backed away.  "Sorry," he said.  He held his hand out to me, palm up.

I looked at his hand for a few moments.  I studied his long, beautiful fingers that had a bit of dirt under the nails, but were still quite delicate.  I wanted to feel his skin, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard our preacher prattling on about sins of the flesh.  Could touching Edward's hand be considered a sin of the flesh?  I knew that if he was Amish and we were courting, it wouldn't be, so it couldn't be with Edward.

I slowly slipped my hand into his.  The things I felt inside of me at that moment were unimaginable.  The only way to explain is to say that I suddenly felt...at home. 

"Oh, Bella.  I can't explain what I’m feeling right now, and I'm afraid to scare you away, but I can't bear to be away from you.  The weekends that I have been at home and not working have been torture.  Not being able to see you and speak to you - it was unbearable.  I want…” he dropped off and buried his face in the hand that wasn’t connected to mine.

He said it so low that I barely heard him.

“I want to spend more time with you.  Even just a tiny part of every day means so much.  You’ve become important to me, Bella.”

My heart quickened and I felt as though my body, my flesh and bones, would jump out of my skin.  This man made me feel so alive, when I hadn’t known that I was dead to begin with.  I had to take a leap, and tell him that I wanted him too.  Where that would leave us or me, I wasn’t sure.  What I did know, was that I couldn’t just let him walk away and never lay eyes on him again.  He had changed my life, my world, and I would never be the same again.  The life that I was brought into, I had been content with for the last seventeen and a half years, was no longer what I wanted or needed.  I could no longer be complacent.

I turned to face him and with strength I didn’t know I had, I took the hand not holding his and put it under his chin.  I lifted his face so I could see his eyes, and saw that he too, had tears of his own.

“I want…” I paused, searching for strength in his eyes.  “I want you as well, Edward, but I am scared of what that means for me, and for you.”

Before I realized what was happening, Edward had me crushed to him in a tight hug.  I panicked a little, knowing that I should pull away, but I felt secure in his hold, safe.  I let my head fall to his shoulder; I was surprised at my own bravery, or maybe it was stupidity.  My nose lay in the crook of his neck and shoulder, just above his collar bone.  The smell of him was intoxicating and I knew that it was going to be hard to let him go.  I didn’t want to let him go, I wanted to do whatever I could to give us a chance.

I knew what that meant.  It meant that I had some very important decisions to make, and that my mother was going to be heartbroken, because with that one embrace, I knew my decision was made.

When I returned home that night I dove into my chores with a renewed vigor.  I wanted more time to say goodbye to Edward tomorrow.  As I worked in the barn, mucking the stalls and getting the animals settled in for the night, I reflected back on my time with Edward.  Never in my wildest imagination had I ever guessed that all this would happen.  Not only that I would meet an English man and actually have the nerve to speak to him, but also that I would grow to like him.  I had never been able to speak to a man so openly and feel like his equal.  We both liked to read and spoke of some works that we had both read.  The list was short, as my list mostly reflected biblical stories, but there were still some topics that I was able to pick his brain on, and topics that we were able to share thoughts on. 

It felt liberating.  I felt something for Edward; something that James or Jacob -- the two boys that wanted to court me -- had never made me feel.  It was something tangible, something that, now that I had felt it, I never wanted to let go.  Edward made me feel important, special.  I knew that feeling this way would get me in trouble with my family and in my community.  All Amish people had a goal in life to blend in with all others surrounding us.  We didn't want to stick out or be different.  We all wore the same clothes so as not to draw attention to ourselves.  Our sole attention was to be given to God, and when we were married, it went first to God, then our spouses, and then our children.  We worked for our families and for the community.

As I brushed Bridget, our field horse, I remembered the feel of my hand inside of Edward's.  Like it had when I actually felt it, my heart sped up and I felt a little heat on my neck.  I remembered the things that went through my mind earlier today when we were saying our goodbyes.  Edward had begged me to meet him the next day.  I had promised him I would do everything in my power to be there.  He had actually taken the day off of work so that we could have extra time together.  He’d helped me up from the grass and as I’d stood up, I had lost my balance.  He’d quickly moved to catch me and had grabbed me around my waist.  For a short moment, we had been so close; I had looked up at him and seen him staring back at me.  There had been something in his eyes I’d seen, but couldn't name, but I could recognize it, because it was how I felt.  What had that been?  What was it that I had felt?  Part of me knew that I liked Edward and that I wanted to spend more time with him.  But there was also a small part of me that kept asking “what if.”  I wasn’t sure about all the rest, but I wondered if he had been thinking the same things.  He’d helped me over the fence just as he had done everyday, and had kissed the top of my hand when I was over.  Quickly, before I’d turned and left him, he’d leaned in to my ear and whispered, "Until tomorrow."

Tomorrow indeed.

Before bedtime, I finally worked up the nerve to flat out lie to my mother.  I felt bad that I was going to do it, but I knew there was no other way, not if I wanted to say goodbye to Edward tomorrow.  She was in the kitchen, preparing one of the meals for the next day.

"Mother, would it be alright if I walked over to the Mallory's?  Lauren has been ill and although we have differences at times, I would like to offer her some of my reading material for the duration of her sickness.  I know she must be tired of her own material by now," I asked, doing my best to maintain a normal tone through my blatant lie.  I hated lying to my mother.

"Oh, Isabella, that would be very kind of you.  Will you stay to offer her company for a while?" my innocent mother inquired.

"I think I must, Mother.  I'm not sure she has had much company since she has fallen ill.  Will it be an inconvenience to you if I stay with her for a length?" I asked and secretly prayed that she wouldn't mind.

"Not at all, Isabella.  I think that would be a wonderful thing for you to do.  Stay and visit with her for a while, but if you could, please be home before the sun begins to set."  My mother turned to the oven and began to stir a large pot of something.

"Won't you need help with supper, Mother?” I asked, not really wanting the answer, because it could lessen the amount of time I'd have with Edward.

"I will get Rosalie or Mary-Alice to help me.  What time do you plan to leave?" she asked as she stirred, her back to me.  It made it easier to lie to her and I felt horrible about that.

"I will leave after my morning chores are done.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I ran most of the way to our meeting place.  When I finally arrived, I was out of breath and sweating under the late morning sun.  I didn't care.  I didn't want to miss a minute of my time with Edward. 

When I emerged through the corn, he was there waiting for me.  He helped me over the fence, but instead of sitting like we usually did, he remained standing.  A part of me worried that he had changed his mind, that he didn't want to spend any time with me and was just going to go home.  Before my worries grew too strong, he spoke.

"How long do you have today, Bella?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I have to be home by early nightfall.  I had to lie to my mother, but this is our last day.  It's important," I explained.  He nodded in understanding.

"There is somewhere I would like to take you, but," he paused and looked around,  "we have to drive," he finished quickly.  He looked at me, waiting for me to respond, and swallowed hard.  I watched his Adam's apple bob.

I couldn't ride in a car, could I?  My sisters had told me of times when they had ridden in cars, during their Rumspringa.  I wasn't in my running around; I knew there would be trouble for me if I was seen.  I started to shake my head ‘no’.

"Wait.  Don't say no.  Look, there is a backseat in my truck, and the windows are dark.  You can crouch down in the back and I promise, you won't be seen.  Where we are going, there won't be other people to see you there with me.  I promise, Bella.  I wouldn't expose you like that," he pleaded with me.

I watched his eyes and they searched mine.  While he waited for my answer, I contemplated what would happen if I were caught.  I would get into a great deal of trouble.  But, at the same time, I had never done any running around.  While my mother had always been happy about that, my father had always told me it made him nervous.  He wanted me to experience the sins of the outside world so that I could see how perfect our life was. 

Thinking about it wasted our precious time together.  I took a deep breath.

"Alright.  I will ride in your truck, in the back seat," I told him.  I was rewarded with a breathtaking smile.

Edward quickly grabbed onto my hand and the small basket I had brought along, our lunch.  He quickly tugged me toward his truck that was parked directly in front of the large shed he had been working on the past several days.  The brush in the ditch was thick and before I knew what he was doing, he had picked me up and lifted me over it.  I squealed in surprise and Edward chuckled.  He quickly tucked me into the backseat of his truck, shut the door, and ran around to his door.  He placed the picnic basket on the seat beside him and turned the vehicle on. 

"The drive is mostly along gravel roads, Bella, so we will not have to worry about a lot of traffic, but the drive should take ten to fifteen minutes," he informed me.

"Okay."  It was all I could muster; I was so nervous and excited.  I had butterflies fluttering around in my tummy.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Edward parked his truck and shut it off.  We were in a secluded area that I had never seen.  There were no other automobiles or signs of life around.  He opened the door for me and I stepped out of it like it was on fire.  It had been a quiet ride, the truck made few noises, but the power of the automobile frightened me.  I was accustomed to the clop-clopping of horse hooves, not the purr of an engine.

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"This is my land.  My grandfather passed away a few years ago, and left me his house and land.  I had the house torn down, it was in bad shape.  But one day, I plan to build my own house out here," he explained.

"I am sorry for your loss," I sympathized.  I had lost my Oma four years ago, but I still held the pain of her loss within me.

"Thank you, Bella.  He was a good man, but he was quite sick.  It was his time to go.  Come on."  He grabbed my hand and picked the basket up with the other.

We walked for a ways, and I imagined it had to be close to a mile.  I was used to walking, so my feet were not bothered, but my legs began to grow tired from trying to keep up with Edward.  His legs were much longer than mine.  After a bit further, he finally stopped.  He set down the picnic basket and looked at me.

"Wait here for a minute, I'll be right back."

I nodded instead of responding, I was a tad winded.  I looked around me for the first time since we had started walking and realized that we were in a wooded area.  There were rock walls sparsely spread out around us as well as large boulders.  I climbed up and sat on the largest boulder as I waited for Edward.

After a few minutes, Edward called my name.  I stood up, picked up the picnic basket, and began to walk toward him.  Once again, I felt the butterflies in my stomach.  I was nervous, but also excited.  A part of my mind kept reminding me that today was our last day together, and that I was being foolish, but I ignored it.

Edward came out through the trees and took the basket from me.  He held his hand out and I quickly took it, noticing that the woods grew thicker.  We didn't speak as we walked, and as we grew closer to what I assumed was our destination, I began to hear a roar. 

"What is that loud noise?" I asked him.

He kept walking, but turned around and gave me a crooked smile that made my insides feel odd.  I continued to follow him and just seconds later, he pulled us out of the dense woods and to our destination.  He walked off to the right of me, but I could only focus on what was in front of me.

"Oh!" I exclaimed.  "Oh my!  It's so beautiful, Edward.  So, so beautiful," I told him.  "This is yours?" I asked him, in pure astonishment.

He smiled at me and nodded his head quickly.  I looked at him and he was staring at me intently.  He lifted his hand and motioned to something to the right of me.  A large quilt was laid out on the ground along with a few small pillows.  He had set the basket in the middle of the blanket.  I must have been entranced by the scenery for longer than I thought.

I made my way over to the edge of the blanket, removed my shoes, and sat down.  Edward did the same, and then pulled open a small, plastic cooler.  From it he pulled two bottles of water. 

"I bought them in a hurry this morning.  I hope this is okay," he asked me, unsure about the plastic.

I figured it didn't matter, since I had already broken quite a few rules.  I took the bottle from him that he had opened for me and began to drink, quite piggishly, I had to admit.  When I finished I looked over and saw him staring at me again with a large smile on his face.

We ate our lunch mostly in silence.  Sometimes Edward would offer me little bits of information about growing up in the city, but then escaping here, to his grandfather’s farm.  I laughed at him when he called it a farm and he argued that it was the closest thing to a farm he had ever been on. 

When we finished, we packed the remnants of our food and garbage back into the basket.  Edward stood up from the blanket and walked over to me, leaving his shoes on the ground.  He held his hand down to me and as I took it, he pulled me up to him.

"Come on, lets get a little closer," he suggested.  He began to walk, pulling me behind him.  He didn't walk too fast this time; he took his time and pointed out rocks or tree limbs for me so I wouldn't step on them with my bare feet.

He walked us along the pool that the waterfall fell in to.  Up ahead of us, I saw a group of large rocks that sat close to the falling water, but not directly in it.  Edward pulled us over to them and helped me climb up onto one of the large boulders.  I could feel the light mist of the water as it danced upon my skin.  Edward pulled himself up onto the boulder and sat beside me.

"This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen, Edward," I told him.  It truly was.  I had never felt such joy, nor seen such beauty.

“I found this place when I was seven years old on the day that my mother died.  I wanted to be alone, and I wandered away from the house, needing to be away from all the commotion, all the people.  I found this, and it was like I was with my mother again.  Like this was a gift from her to me, to let me know that she was always with me," Edward said, as he looked out over the waterfall.

I felt my eyes beginning to well; I didn't want to cry in front of him, but his words and the way he felt and the fact that he had lost his mother at such a young age had me so emotional.  Just as the first tear slipped down my cheek, he looked back at me.  I felt embarrassed that he had seen me cry.  It wasn't my place to cry, but I couldn't help it.

He lifted his finger to my cheek and slowly trailed his finger where the tear had flowed.  "Why are you crying, Isabella?” he asked.  The sound of his voice saying my full name brought only more tears. 

How could I bear to lose him?  This man, this wonderful man, had shown me things I never knew existed, without ever leaving that grassy ditch on the other side of the fence from my farm.  He made me feel things I never knew I could.  He made me want more, and that scared me, because what if he didn't feel the same way?  What if he didn't think of me like I thought of him, every single day?  Did he dream of me like I dreamed of him?

I began to cry harder, finding it impossible to stop.  Edward gathered me up into his arms and held me close to him.  At first, I left my arms at my side, afraid to touch him - but I wanted to touch him, needed to touch him.  I let my hands fist in his shirt at the sides of his torso.  I felt him put his mouth on the top of my head, felt his warm breath on my hair.  I felt the small kiss he left on my scalp.

"I know, Bella.  I know," he whispered to me over the roar of the water.

He knew?  What did that mean?  Did that mean that he, too, was conflicted about what was happening between us?  He pulled away from me for a second and internally, I panicked a little.  Did he not feel about me that way?  Almost immediately he pulled me back to him and onto his lap; he had lowered himself to the boulder.

"There has to be a way, Bella.  There has to be.  I know that we haven't known each other for very long, but you make me feel different.  When I'm with you, I feel like more, like I want to be more, for you.  I don't know where that leaves us.  I live out there and you...you don't," he said quickly and without taking a breath. 

I turned to look at his face.  I'd had my nose tucked into my favorite place on him, the crook of his neck, where I found the most comfort.  When I looked into his eyes, they searched mine, my face, looking for the answer he needed.  I knew how he felt.  I was doing the same thing, making sure that what he said, he was sure about.  I knew he was.

"Oh, Edward.  I couldn't be happier with your words, but I don't know what to do.  I mean, this is my life and I have to be bapti..." I didn't finish.  That was our answer.

"What?" Edward asked me loudly.

I thought about all the stories my sisters had told me, all the stories that the girls in my bible study had told me over the last couple of years.  The stories of their Rumspringa.  I knew it was the only way.  There was no other way I would be able to convince both my mother and my father to let me go out in the world, unless it was for my running around, and in preparation for my baptism.

I felt the smile slowly spread across my face and almost from a distance, I heard him asking me, “What?”

"Rumspringa," was all I said.

"Rum what?" Edward asked, confused.

"Rumspringa.  It is the term for ‘running around’ for the Amish.  Before Amish children devote themselves to God and the Amish way of life, they have a chance to go out into the world and have fun and experience the "English" ways of life.  Few decide to stay in the modern world, but most come back and go through with their baptism.  I never really think about Rumspringa, because I was always so sure that I wouldn't stray from our lifestyle.  I have God and I have my family.  Up until now, until you, I didn't believe there was anything else for me," I explained to Edward.  I grew a little sad at the thought of leaving my family.  Could I do this?

"Rumspringa," Edward deadpans, this time sounding less confused and more confident.  I felt him jostle under me and he stood up with me still in his arms.  "Just a second, I'll be right back," he quickly said as he ran off of the boulder and toward our picnic area.  I stood as I waited for him to come back. 

Edward was back in under a minute and as he got closer, I could see that he held something small and black in his hand.  He found his place on the boulder and pulled me down onto his lap once more.  I couldn't see the item in his hand anymore.

"I kind of brought something today, to give to you.  I wasn't sure you would want to contact me ever again, whether it would be easier for you if we just had a clean break and celebrated our time together, or if you would want to find some way to speak to me again.  Honestly, I would have been heartbroken if you wanted the clean break, Bella.  You have made a place inside of me, and without you, it sits vacant.  I don't want to lose you, so, I brought this to give to you."  He brought his hand out in front of both of us and showed me the item.  I had seen them before, one of the boys that had courted Mary-Alice once had had one; I knew that it was a cell phone.  I grew a bit scared.  If that thing went off or something and one of my parents heard it, I would certainly be punished harshly.

Edward flipped the little top of it open and I could see a black screen and lots of buttons with numbers on it.  It was smaller than the one my sister’s friend had carried.  He pressed a button on the thing and the screen lit up.  I felt my eyes bug out a little and an exasperated giggle erupted from me.

Edward went into explanation mode.  He explained that it was a prepaid phone, and that as long as I kept it off until the first time I wanted to call him, the phone wouldn't ring at all.  He also told me that the battery shouldn't go dead, at least, it wouldn't as long as I didn't wait a ridiculous amount of time to call him.  He gave me a worried look after he said that but I smiled and reassured him that I couldn't possibly wait long.  He told me that all I had to do to call him was turn on the phone and hit the send button with the green telephone emblem on it.  He had called his own phone with it so his number was the only number on the call list.  He worried a little bit about the reception around the farm, but told me that there was a tower not far from where he had been working, and we had been meeting, so if I could go out there to make the call, that would give me the best chance of reaching him.  He promised me he would answer when I called.  He said if he couldn't get to it the first few rings, to call again, until he did answer.

I promised him I would.

The rest of the day we spent sitting close to the waterfall.  We talked about all kinds of things.  I had so many questions about the outside world, the bigger city, and I picked his brain all afternoon.  I told him that I had been away from the farm several times, and had gone to busier areas, but I had never actually been in the city. 

Edward asked me questions of his own.  He wanted to know what life on the farm was like and what would happen if I did decide to get baptized.  His voice seemed to go a little funny when he asked me that, but I answered his question honestly.  If I did decide on baptism, I would follow the Amish way of life and eventually, marry either James or Jacob, since my father favored them, and begin the next step of life; however God had it planned for me.  Edward asked me if I would have children and I felt my cheeks grow crimson.  We never spoke of bearing children; it was simply unspoken of. 

"Ah, umm...err.  I, I, yes.  Yes," I finally stuttered out.

That brought on another onslaught of questions from Edward, why I was so shy about speaking of having children and many other things.  After a while, our questions died down a little and we decided to walk a little closer to the edge of the pond.

At the water's edge, Edward began to discard his socks and shoes.  He had nice feet, and for some reason, I found them fascinating.  I removed mine as well and picked up the edges of my long skirt so it wouldn't get completely soaked.  We waded in the water for a while in silence.  Edward rolled up his torn blue jeans and walked deeper into the water.  I said a small prayer to God, hoping that Edward knew how to swim.

When our feet began to prune, we made it back to our blanket and sat there for a while and talked once again.  Edward's questions had gotten a little more precise and he asked questions about my faith and the Amish community. I told him that we were Old Order Amish; one of the oldest and strictest in our rules and our faith.  I told him the repercussions of leaving the lifestyle, and a little bit more about my Aunt Esme.

"When...or if, you call me, Bella, would you like to see your Aunt Esme?" Edward asked me.

I couldn't help the bubble of excitement I felt inside.  I missed my aunt so much, and it would be so lovely to see her.  I could also ask her all sorts of questions.  I knew that she would make me think hard about what I wanted, very hard, and not let me make any foolish decisions regarding the rest of my life.

The afternoon went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for me to make my way back home.  Edward packed up the rest of our picnic and placed it back in my basket.  We folded the blanket and we made the journey back to his truck.

"I hope to see that waterfall again some day," I whispered as we walked up to Edward's truck.  Edward opened his truck, took the basket from me and placed it in the front seat, then opened the rear door for me.  I moved to get into the truck, but he stopped me. 

"I hope that too, very much, Bella.  You have no idea."  Before he helped me into the truck, he took my hand and kissed the back of it.  I was getting used to his touching and displays of adoration.  I would miss it.

The drive back to our spot went all too quick, and before I knew it, Edward was quickly pulling me and the basket from the truck.  He walked me over to the fence and helped me over it.

"I don't know what to say right now.  There aren't words to express what I am feeling right now.  Just...call me.  Come back to me, Isabella," he pleaded with me.

The tears began to pour from my eyes again and I copied his move and lifted the back of his hand to my lips.  "Goodbye, Edward."