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Redemption *One Shot* by shamrockon






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Table of Contents
- Text Size +
Story Notes:

Twilighted Supervisory Beta: qjmom

Twilighted Senior Validation Beta: nikkipattinson

 

Author's Chapter Notes:

 

This is my first fanfiction here on twilighted and my first attempt at AU.  I'd really love to get some feedback from ya'll.  There's nothing but the best writers here, which is what I aspire to be one day. 

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm just dabbling.   

 


            Edward sat at the bar working on polishing off his third beer of the night.  He didn’t normally drink so much at one time, but tonight he was searching for something to numb the pain that seemed to ooze through his entire body, starting in his chest. His heart hurt.  Tanya had up and packed after 5 years of marriage, walking straight out of his life. Since she had gone all the light and reason had left his world. 


“There’s no passion in our marriage, Edward.  You don’t love me; you love the idea of me! You love the idea of the perfect little woman who will stand by you, and give you the white picket fence and the 2.5 children or whatever the hell the government calls it now. You say you want that goddamn American Dream, Edward, but you don’t know what you want!” screamed Tanya.


“Babe, I… I love you. Tanya, please,” Edward pleaded.  “I’ve been in love with you our whole lives.  Don’t….”


 “We’ve been married for five years Edward, five damn years,” she interjected, “and you hardly look at me, let alone touch me.  I want a man that cares about me, a man that loves me, a man who’s ready not just to talk about starting a family but actually gets around to doing it.”


 “I can… I can change, T, please don’t do this.  I love you.  I’ll do anything you need babe… I just need a little more time to….”


 “No, Edward.  You’re out of time.”


 Edward was paralyzed watching his wife, the only stable thing in his life, walk out the door.  Tanya gathered her suitcases and bags into her hands haphazardly, her hip poised to push open the screen door. 


 “Don’t call, Edward.  I won’t answer.  Good luck figuring out your life.  I hope you find whatever makes you happy.” And with a small hip check the screen door opened, and she walked out of the home that they had built together five years ago.  The door slammed behind her as the night swallowed her small form.


Edward took a deep draft of his beer, relishing the creeping numbness that alcohol brings.  His mind was a swirl of colors and disjointed thoughts, and he couldn’t focus.  He took another swig, and the beer was gone. 


            He slapped the smooth wooden counter of the bar and motioned for another drink.  “Tequila shot if you please, my good man.”  The bartender came over holding the small crystalline glass and poured it full.  “Leave the bottle, guy, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon, and it’ll save you the nuisance,” proclaimed Edward as he slammed back the shot.  He was currently renting out an apartment over the door, so sobriety wasn’t a worry factor in getting home. 


 


~*~*~*~*~


 


Bella was nursing her first drink of the night, swishing the contents of the clear bottle in lazy circles, staring idly into space.  Her thoughts ran in tangling, desperate circles.  She didn’t know what she was going to do by the time it was last call at the bar.  She had no place to go home to, just her life’s possessions shoved into the trunk of her rusty beat up Chevy, and nary a dollar to her name.  It was the dead of winter, and the heat in her car didn’t even work right anymore.  She was more than positive that she was going to freeze to death before the night was through.  Sighing, Bella took a long drink from the bottle in her hand, the other hand absentmindedly rubbing circles across her stomach. 


The look in her dad’s eyes was something that would haunt her for the rest of her life.  It was as if she had done this on purpose to ruin him.  His chocolate eyes were icy daggers as he stood in the doorway of her bedroom holding the positive pregnancy test that had previously been in the trashcan of the bathroom. 


“Young lady, what exactly is this? Tell this isn’t yours.  Tell me that my twenty-one year old daughter didn’t fuck up her life, and get knocked up from some random screw.” His voice belied none of his emotions, and his face was a mask of marble that frightened Bella more than an angry tirade would have. 


“Daddy…” she started as tears poured down her porcelain cheeks.  Every word he said was true.  It was a hazy drunken night at a frat party, and she didn’t even have a name to put to the face.  She didn’t know if she wanted to.  “Daddy… I… I’m so sorry… I….”


“Get. Out.” Each word was punctuated by the flick of his tongue as he emphasized the ‘t’ of the words.  The marble of his face hadn’t cracked at all, but his chocolate eyes had melted into a blazing fire.  “The girl I raised loved the Lord and followed his commands.  She knew the difference between right and wrong.  She was upright and virtuous and someone I was proud of.  You’re not my daughter anymore.”


 “Daddy, no… Mom, tell him. Please!” sobbed Bella.  “It was… an accident… I didn’t mean… please…” her voice trailed off as she stared into her mother’s tear-filled eyes.  Renee Swan stood there for a brief minute, hand on her heart as she cried for her daughter, but then she too walked away.


Bella felt herself tearing up again as she sat at the dark bar.  She shook slightly as she tried to rein in the sob that was trying to break loose, taking a small sip of water from the bottle in front of her, her hand resting on her abdomen.  This baby was all she had left in this world, and she would do everything she could to keep it safe.  


 


~*~*~*~*~ 


 


Through the haze of a little too much alcohol, Edward observed the pretty brunette girl sitting next to him at the bar.  She was pale and drawn, dark hair, dark eyes - a nice looking girl. He could see beneath her hand that her stomach was slightly more rounded than he would have taken for her otherwise petite form.  He watched as tiny tears slowly slipped from the girl’s coffee-colored eyes and traced silver tracks down her porcelain cheeks.  He was drawn to this sad girl and couldn’t help himself as he reached out with a gentle hand and wiped her tears away. 


“Whatever it is, it can’t be so bad that you’re crying,” said Edward. “You don’t even have booze in front of you.” He grinned, hoping it would make the girl smile, but she just stared at him, more tears falling from her chocolate brown eyes as she hiccupped slightly.  “Hey shh, it’ll be okay, whatever it is,” crooned Edward, taking the girl into his arms. “I’m Edward, by the way.”


 “I’m Isabella,” she whispered into his shoulder, “but I go by Bella.”


 “Well, Bella, it’s good to meet ya, honey,” Edward said earnestly. 


Bella pulled herself up from Edward and righted herself on the bar stool, but he wasn’t ready to part with her yet.  He took hold of her hand and gently caressed the back of it as he looked into her eyes, tequila forgotten. 


 “So, Bella, tell me about yourself.”  She meekly shook her head, eyes trained on the ground.  “No? Well then I guess you’ll get to hear all about me, then.  Don’t get too bored though, babe. I promise you this story isn’t very entertaining.”


She stared at him then, one eyebrow raised in question. 


 “Oh come on, I was making a joke! Am I really not that funny?” he exclaimed in mock sadness.


She pursed her lips as she gauged his facial expression.  “I really don’t think so,” she quipped, holding in her laughter. 


 “Oh, I’m wounded!” he cried.  “My ego, you’ve killed it!” She laughed then, and it was a sound like bells ringing in the air. 


Edward told Bella all sorts of stories from his lifetime, stories of the mischief and havoc he wreaked wherever he went, including the failed marriage to Tanya.  Only this time it didn’t seem so painful.  The loss that had been eating  a hole in his chest just earlier in the evening seemed to have mended itself when he met this shy, sad girl.  He verged on ridiculous with how much he hammed up the stories, but every time that he struck another pose, Bella would smile and laugh.  He couldn’t help wishing he could always make her look like that: she was so beautiful when she smiled. 


 “Bella, can I ask you something?” breathed Edward, leaning closer towards her.  She nodded her head slightly although her body visibly tensed.  “May I kiss you?”


He didn’t know what prompted his abrupt request - it could have very well been the alcohol speaking - but he was drawn to this girl.  Edward barely knew her, but his heart felt full again, holding her in his arms the way he had. 


She closed her eyes, her breath hitching in her chest.  “Ed... Edward… I… I….”


“What is it, honey?”


“You shouldn’t even be talking to me.  I’m a horrible person who fucked up everything in my life,” she raved as the tears poured down her cheeks for the second time of the night. “I was supposed to be the perfect daughter, graduated from college, live my life for Jesus, get married, and be the perfect wife, but I screwed up so bad.  My parents threw me out because I got drunk at a party and now I’m pregnant.  I don’t even know who the guy was.  You should run away from me as fast as you can. You’re everything good and right and I… I just can’t… I’m not worth anything… I... I…”


Her eyes were wild, darting all over the bar, looking at everything but him.  Edward placed both of his hands gently on her cheeks, forcing her to meet his eyes.  “Look at me and tell me what you see,” he said softly.  “Look into my eyes, Isabella.”


 “You’re too good for me.  You’re perfect.  I’ll ruin you,” she whispered.


  “No, no, don’t let me ever hear you trying to sell that bullshit.  Don’t think too much, just feel what I know you’re feeling in your heart.” He kissed her roughly, pouring all his emotions into it, and she responded with just as much fervor. 


            They walked upstairs, never releasing contact with each other.  They could feel it in the electricity that flowed between them.  Something was changing within them, something raw and powerful, and it filled them with a passionate fire that neither had experienced in their lives.  His touches were soft and gentle; her kisses frantic with need. They held tight to each other as gravity shifted, and their worlds crashed into one.  It wasn’t the mindlessness of lust and loneliness; it was the embrace of redemption and love. 

Chapter End Notes:

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