BubbleGum Champion by Heartbroken1

Chapter One – Exposed

Edward Cullen

Watching Bella sleep was both wonderful and boring at the same time. The nights she was quiet were especially mundane. It was during these times that I would take advantage of having the run of her father’s house.

On my excursions, I had discovered Bella’s baby crib still occupying space in the attic. I believed that Charlie still loved Renee very much. My suspicions were validated when I found a box of old love letters and pictures from when they were first married.

Tonight, I decided I was going to look through the old scrapbooks that Charlie had sitting on the bookcase. Bella had always steered me away from them which only made them all the more intriguing. I began flipping through the pages, carefully examining each and every photo and the information that it provided. It was a journal of sorts, revealing more and more about the woman I loved.

I turned the page and found an 8×10 picture of a young, Bella blowing an enormous bubble with the words “Double Bubble Bubblegum Champion, Isabella Swan” engraved along the bottom.

The next page was a newspaper clipping with a similar photo and Bella was obviously older. The caption read, “The Double Bubble Bubblegum Contest’s defending champion, 12-year-old Isabella Swan of Phoenix has won for the third year in a row, beating out 30 other contestants.”

A chuckle escaped from my throat as a sense of pride began to rise in my stomach for Bella and her talent of blowing huge bubbles with the pink, sticky substance. It surprised me though, because Bella wasn’t much of a gum chewer now. I wondered when she’d stopped.

“Edward?” Bella said from her room. I carefully put the book back exactly the way I’d found it. There was no need to tell Bella I’d been snooping again. She hated when I did that. I grabbed a glass of water as a cover and raced up the stairs. Thank goodness for vampire speed.

“Hey,” I smiled, handing her the water. “I’m going to go home and shower, okay?”

“I’ll meet you there in just a little bit.”

“See you soon,” I whispered, kissing her perfect lips. I ran home as quickly as I could so that I would be ready when she arrived.