Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [40]
He put a cold hand on my forehead. It felt nice. How do you feel now?
I thought about that for a moment. The nausea had passed as suddenly as it had come, and I felt like I did any other morning. Pretty normal. A little hungry, actually.
He made me wait an hour and keep down a big glass of water before he fried me some eggs. I felt perfectly normal, just a little tired from being up in the middle of the night. He put on CNN-wed been so out of touch, world war three could have broken out and we wouldnt have known-and I lounged drowsily across his lap.
I got bored with the news and twisted around to kiss him. Just like this morning, a sharp pain hit my stomach when I moved. I lurched away from him, my hand tight over my mouth. I knew Id never make it to the bathroom this time, so I ran to the kitchen sink.
He held my hair again.
Maybe we should go back to Rio, see a doctor, he suggested anxiously when I was rinsing my mouth afterward.
I shook my head and edged toward the hallway. Doctors meant needles. Ill be fine right after I brush my teeth.
When my mouth tasted better, I searched through my suitcase for the little first-aid kit Alice had packed for me, full of human things like bandages and painkillers and-my object now-Pepto-Bismol. Maybe I could settle my stomach and calm Edward down.
But before I found the Pepto, I happened across something else that Alice had packed for me. I picked up the small blue box and stared at it in my hand for a long moment, forgetting everything else.
Then I started counting in my head. Once. Twice. Again.
The knock startled me; the little box fell back into the suitcase.
Are you well? Edward asked through the door. Did you get sick again?
Yes and no, I said, but my voice sounded strangled.
Bella? Can I please come in? Worriedly now.
O kay?
He came in and appraised my position, sitting cross-legged on the floor by the suitcase, and my expression, blank and staring. He sat next to me, his hand going to my forehead at once.
Whats wrong?
How many days has it been since the wedding? I whispered.
Seventeen, he answered automatically. Bella, what is it?
I was counting again. I held up a finger, cautioning him to wait, and mouthed the numbers to myself. Id been wrong about the days before. Wed been here longer than Id thought. I started over again.
Bella! he whispered urgently. Im losing my mind over here.
I tried to swallow. It didnt work. So I reached into the suitcase and fumbled around until I found the little blue box of tampons again. I held them up silently.
He stared at me in confusion. What? Are you trying to pass this illness off as PMS?
No, I managed to choke out. No, Edward. Im trying to tell you that my period is five days late.
His facial expression didnt change. It was like I hadnt spoken.
I dont think I have food poisoning, I added.
He didnt respond. He had turned into a sculpture.
The dreams, I mumbled to myself in a flat voice. Sleeping so much. The crying. All that food. Oh. Oh. Oh.
Edwards stare seemed glassy, as if he couldnt see me anymore.
Reflexively, almost involuntarily, my hand dropped to my stomach.
Oh! I squeaked again.
I lurched to my feet, slipping out of Edwards unmoving hands. Id never changed out of the little silk shorts and camisole Id worn to bed. I yanked the blue fabric out of the way and stared at my stomach.
Impossible, I whispered.
I had absolutely no experience with pregnancy or babies or any part of that world, but I wasnt an idiot. Id seen enough movies and TV shows to know that this wasnt how it worked. I was only five days late. If I was pregnant, my body wouldnt even have registered that fact. I would not have morning sickness. I would not have changed my eating or sleeping habits.
And I most definitely would not have a small but defined bump sticking out between my hips.
I twisted my torso back and forth, examining it from every angle, as if it would disappear in exactly the right light. I ran my fingers over the subtle bulge, surprised by how rock hard it felt under my