Black & Blue |C. Cullen|

EIGHTEEN

I smelt it on myself, the preservatives used to, well, preserve dead bodies. No matter how many times I washed my hands, it would not come out. I groaned and reached for my phone. I flipped through my contacts until I found Carlisle's name, then I pressed the green call button.

"Jess?" He questioned the second he picked up.

"On a scale of one to ten," I paused and grounded at the smell of my hand so close to my face, "how much do you despise the smell of formaldehyde?"

"One being the least and ten being the highest?" He chuckled.

"Yeah," I groaned.

"I'm not a big fan, so to say. I'd rate my distaste as an eight," he laughed once again.

"Okay, how do I get it off of me? I swear I've showered twice and I can't tell if it's just haunting me or if I actually still smell like it," I whined, formaldehyde smelt disgusting.

"You don't smell like it anymore," he mused from behind me, I jumped. "It's your imagination."

"I hate using it or being around it," I trudged up to him and was wrapped in an embrace.

"As do I," he kissed my forehead. "Would you like to go to dinner tonight?"

"I'd love to, I definitely need a shower first," I laughed and shrugged my white coat off.

"It's your imagination, darling," he smiled and kissed my cheek.

"It's on my clothes or something," I giggled and turned to grab my car keys. I grabbed my bag, shut the light out, and locked my office door behind us. I said goodbye to my receptionist before exiting the clinic. "I definitely have to change before dinner, after I change I'll know that the formaldehyde smell is just in my head."

"I'll see you at home," he kissed me one last time before parting to his own car.

I started mine and pulled my hair up in a bun before pulling the top of the car down. I tore down the road shortly after that and searched for a gas station on the way. I left my radio on, since I was the only one there, while I pumped gas. I sang quietly along with Fire and the Flood as I waited for the tank to fill.

After placing the nozzle back in its appropriate resting place, I turned back to my car and noticed that Carlisle had been waiting for me; he heard and saw my whole song and dance. I blushed and hid my face in my hands as I scurried to the other side of my car to take my seat.

The engine kicked up and he led the way to the house. I never missed the turn in anymore, but there were times in the beginning where I had to call one of the family members for directions as I had passed it several times without noticing.

I parked my car in the garage and jogged upstairs to change. Carlisle was already there, I jumped when I saw him sitting on the bed. "I should really be more used to that," I laughed and rummaged through my dresser drawers until I found a suitable outfit to change into. "I'll be right back," I ducked into the bathroom and changed. Once I fixed my clothes, I cracked the bathroom door and looked up at the mirror. "Oh my god, I'm a mess."

"You look beautiful," Carlisle was by my side within seconds.

"You're just saying that," I leant against his shoulder and messed with my hair.

"I'm telling the truth, Jessamine," he kissed my hair. "When would you like to leave?"

"I'm good to go whenever you are," I smiled.

"I'm going to go change, I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes," he replied and went off to his room.

I walked downstairs and took a seat on the couch while I watched Emmett and Jasper play one of the later Halo games. Hands began to play with my hair, I jumped and looked up, Alice lightly pushed my head back to where I was looking at the television. Her hands worked through my hair, I could feel some braiding happening.

"What are you doing?" I laughed.

"Fixing your attempt," she replied.

"I know, I suck at being cute," I giggled and let her do her thing.

"It's not that, it's just that you have really pretty hair and I like doing hair." I tried not to nod in response as I didn't want to throw her off. "There," she pulled lightly once more, "all done."

"Thanks, Alice," I giggled.

"Are you ready?" Carlisle whispered to me, it sent shivers down my spine; the good kind.

"I am," I sat up and faced him with a smile.

He led me out of the house and opened the car door for me. We drove a far distance, but it didn't take long at all. He asked me about work, I told him why I was around formaldehyde; we were dissecting preserved brains for neurology studies. It's a rather creepy concept to think about, but it's helpful.

The night flew by. From the moment we sat down in the restaurant to the moment we left to walk across the boardwalk, the way we held conversation was so energising. The gleam that his eyes held as he listened to me prattle on about my love of places like the Mediterranean and my memories from my childhood at those places was mesmerising.

He wove his fingers through mine as we walked down the boardwalk after the Sun had completely set. I stopped at a more secluded area and leant over the railing to look out across the water. "I know I'm a child, but I love looking down over these for some reason," I laughed.

"Jessamine," he called from beside me in a sincere tone, my heart threatened to stop as I looked over at him; I remembered that tone from a year ago. He read my expression and pulled me to him to comfort me. "Jessamine, you're the sweetest, most compassionate person I've ever met. You're strong, admirable, beautiful, passionate. Jessamine Aurora Garcia, will you marry me?"