Falling for Royalty

Chapter 19

Edward

As I was driving Bella home from school, I noticed that she looked a bit preoccupied with her thoughts. It was quite cute actually, the way her nose crinkled and her brow furrowed in thought. I wanted so badly to know what she was thinking about, but I didn't want to abuse my privilege of occasionally being let into her mind, so I kept my mouth shut.

I turned my head to look at her expression and couldn't help but smile a little before turning back to the road.

"So how was your first day?" it wasn't that I needed to fill the silence with conversation - because it wasn't awkward for us not to talk - I just genuinely wanted to know how she'd found Forks High to be.

My question seemed to snap her out of her thoughts and she didn't need a minute to think about her answer, "It was great, lots of friendly people. How was yours?"

I chuckled at her politeness, glancing at her to see that she really did look eager to find out my answer. I sighed, "It was the best 'first day of school' of my life."

I looked across to find that her cheeks had turned pink, and she was looking down at her lap.

"Really?" she asked, as if needing the reassurance that I wasn't just sugarcoating my words to make her feel good. And I wasn't. When I was around her, I had no filter. My unedited thoughts flew out of my mouth constantly.

"Really." I answered, as we pulled to a stop next to the Jeep. I looked over at her once more, pulling her in for a light kiss, letting my lips linger for a few seconds before drawing away. Her lips formed into an adorable pout, making me grin.

"You're such a tease," Bella rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. Did I mention how cute she looked when she was annoyed? I chuckled at her expression before proceeding to get out the car, racing to open her door for her before she got a chance to.

I helped her out of the Volvo, slowly, before pulling her right into my chest, generating a small gasp. You can guess what happened next. I held my arms tightly around her small waist as her soft hands locked around my neck.

By the time she needed to come up for air, her cheeks were flushed, eyes unfocused. I was grinning all the way, mentally cheering at my victory of successfully surprising her with a spontaneous kiss. Rather than continue reveling that victory, I pulled her inside to meet the rest of my family.

Upon entering the house, however, the atmosphere felt different. I noted that none of my family members were in sight, and though I hadn't expected them all to come rushing to meet me, usually there was one person lingering around.

"Hey, we're home," I called out. We heard a squeak from upstairs, which only confirmed my suspicions that something was clearly wrong. I listened in for my family's thoughts coming from upstairs, but they were all a jumbled mess. Bella and I both zoomed upstairs to the source of the sound but we weren't prepared for what we saw.

Rosalie and Emmett's room was trashed, and I mean… trashed.

Clothes were strewn everywhere, furniture was toppled over. The whole room was a total mess. "What happened?" Bella's eyes were wide as she scanned the room. The whole family, minus Carlisle and Esme were in here. I hadn't seen Esme's car in the driveway, so I assumed she'd taken a trip to Port Angeles to pass the time.