Esme was sat in the coffee shop, in a quiet corner, watching the twins sleep in their pram. She had her daughter, Rosalie, fidgeting on her lap, drinking a juice carton. She was rambling on about her friends at Pre-K, every so often tapping Esme's arm to get her attention. Esme wasn't paying much attention to her eldest child, and was completely wrapped up in her own thoughts. She could feel the weight of her daughter and could see her boys sleeping, but other than that, she felt void of emotion, feeling. It was like her mind was blank.

Rosalie shifted on her lap, and Esme shook her head slightly, almost like she was waking herself up from her despondent state. The motion made her suddenly aware of all the noise around her, and of someone calling her name. She sighed inwardly, not in the mood to talk to whoever it was who had decided to sit next to her. She absentmindedly shifted, fluffing at her hair, pulling it in front of her eyes. Maybe if she ignored the intruder, she would just go away.

She thought it might work as out of the corner of her eye, she saw the woman beside her sigh and lift her rucksack to her shoulder, until Edward began to cry. It wasn't the quiet, tired cry he normally did in his sleep, it was loud, angry sobs. She slid Rose off her lap, next to the woman who had put her rucksack back down, and lifted her son into her arms, closing her eyes briefly as he quietened almost immediately. She looked down at him, smiling as she stared into his bright green eyes.

She dropped the smile from her face as she turned to properly look at the woman who would just not leave. She felt slightly guilty for ignoring her when she saw it was her friend Renee, with her daughter, and Esme's goddaughter, Bella. Esme muttered a quick apology, staring at the ground by Renee's feet. Bella and Rose began chatting animatedly, the way excited four year olds did when they were together. She placed Edward back in his pram, buckling him in safe, and collected all their things together. She took hold of Rose's hand, ignoring her protests and made towards the door. She was almost out of the door, before the back wheel of the pram got stuck, and she paused.

A hand reached down, helping free the wheel and Esme turned, noticing Renee had followed her out of the café. As soon as the wheel was free, Esme pushed it fully out the door, turning to her friend who seemed to be frowning at her. Bella pushed past Esme's leg, to go and stand next to Rose, and they resumed their chatter. Renee and Esme continued to stare at each other until her close friend of six years broke the silence.

"Esme, what is going on? I have not heard from you for weeks, and then when I finally do see you, you blank me. What did I do?" Renee asked, placing her hand on her friends arm. Esme shrugged it off, looking down at her feet, clearly embarrassed to have been called out on her rude behaviour.

"Nothing is going on Ren… I'm fine, I'm sorry I ignored you, I just have a lot on my mind." She couldn't bring herself to look at Renee properly, instead choosing to watch their daughters, sitting, and chatting on the park bench a few feet in front of them. Esme pushed the pram to join them, jumping a little as Renee linked their arms. They sat together, the boys both napping, the girls playing with the dolls Bella had in her bag.

It seemed Renee would not accept her answer and sat, watching her, keeping their arms linked until Esme continued. "Look, I need to get home, the boys need a nap." Renee raised her eyebrow, looking over at the boys who were sleeping, Emmett having been sleeping pretty much since Esme left the house.

"Something is going on Es... You're not normally this distracted. I know we've not spoken for a while, but I'm worried about you." Renee put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Tell me what's going on." Esme glanced up at her daughter who had gone quiet, and was watching her mother quietly. Seeing the worried look on her young daughters face, she smiled, waving at her. That seemed to placate her, as she went back to her dolls, and Esme turned back to Renee.

"I don't know. It's nothing. Stress at work?" She nodded to herself and looked at Renee innocently. Renee frowned and raised her eyebrows disapprovingly. "Esme, you haven't worked for weeks. You've been on maternity leave. Tell me the truth." She leaned forward as Emmett whimpered, but sat back when noticing he was still asleep.

"Well they've been short staffed lately Ren. I work two afternoons a week, when Carlisle is home to look after the babies. Are you calling me a liar?" Esme glared at her, and Renee shook her head, confused as to why Esme was suddenly on the defensive. Esme had not spoken to Renee in almost three months, since the twins were born, and her behaviour was getting stranger the more Renee thought about it.

"I umm... Well..." She stopped talking as she had noticed Renee looking at her strangely. She looked nervous. "It's nothing." She tried to change the subject, standing up to go and crouch next to the young girls as they were playing. Bella offered her godmother the doll she was holding, and Esme took it, smiling at her gratefully. Renee didn't give up, and moved down onto the grass with the rest of them, turning the pram to face them.

"Esme..." Esme looked away from her, clenching her fist. It was clear she was getting annoyed, after 6 years, Renee recognised the signs of when her friend was angry. She was glaring at the ground, and kept unclenching then clenching her hand. Renee frowned, lifting her hand to tuck Esme's hair behind her ear, trying to calm her before their daughters noticed.

It was then she discerned the faint outline of a bruise across the side of her head, covered with concealer. She gently ran her finger over the bruise, taking note of the Esme's wince. When she dropped her hand she could see the mark was slightly darker, and she could see the look of shame that Esme was shooting at her. Renee's gut tightened as she looked at the four kids, the girls watching their mothers, the dolls still hanging in mid-air from when they were playing. Esme looked scared and was trying to avoid looking anywhere but at her hand, knotted together on her lap.

"Esme, what happened? Who did that to you?" Esme shook her head and stood, Rosalie immediately jumped up and took her hand, looking up at her mother with wide eyes. She turned the pram around, walking out of the park down the street. She didn't look back, even when she realised Rose had left her sun hat. They had made it across the road and were a few streets away from home when Renee and Bella caught up to them, Renee placing Rose's hat on her head, taking both of the girls by the hands. Something was going on, and Renee needed to get to the bottom of it.

So, I know it isn't great, but it is definitely better than it used to be. I remember what the original plot line was meant to be and it sucks, so when I am re-writing the chapters, I may change them around a bit. Enjoy, and please review, especially if you read the first version. Let me know if this is any better.