(Bella's POV):

Chapter 1 – Bending God's Ear

The roads were thick with ice; oh how I couldn't wait to finally move out of Forks. Edward had finally agreed we could move to Arizona, where it was always sunny, and never, ever had cold weather.

I had left a message on Edward's phone, telling him I could be home late. It figures the office wouldn't let us out until there was already two feet of snow covering the ground. The roads were icy as hell before the snow, but now there was black ice. I just wanted to make it home to see my family; that was the only thing that could bring my spirits up right now.

My children probably wanted dinner right now; and as much as I loved Edward, he could not cook to save his life. Kelsey could cook; she was fifteen and always spent time with me in the kitchen. However, our youngest, Emma, was only five. We had another daughter on the way; I wanted to tell Edward tonight, so I was in a rush to get home.

The sky was beginning to darken, but I was only a few minutes from the house. I always hated driving to and from Seattle; but for my family I would do it. Edward was always home a little after me; he worked in his father's business.

Minutes later, I pulled into the driveway, expecting to see hi car; however, I managed to make it home before him. Before I even got out of the car, Kelsey was there to greet me. "Hi mom!"

"Hi Kelsey; where's Emma?" I asked, looking around her.

"She's inside. She was hungry, so I made her some mac and cheese." Kelsey shrugged, "Kinda hoping you didn't have an idea for dinner yet, because there's a whole pot of it."

"I didn't, so thank you," I smiled, pulling my coat off the seat. I locked the car and we headed inside.

"Hey Mrs. Cullen!" Kelsey's friend, Rebecca Newton smiled.

"Hello Rebecca! How are your parents?"

"Good; they wanted to know if you want to come to this big neighborhood party on Saturday." Rebecca replied.

"Tell them we would love too," I answered, walking into the kitchen. "Did you girls already eat?"

"Yeah; the rest is for you and dad," Kelsey said, sitting back down on the couch with Rebecca.

"Oh, cheerleading practice has been cancelled for the rest of the week because of the ice," Kelsey called. I sighed with relief. I didn't need to swerve off the road with the girls in my car.

"Alright," I said, putting my stuff down. The kitchen was a mess; I assumed had been baking all afternoon. I sighed to myself and began cleaning up. The front door opened then, and I heard the girls run up to hug their father. They nearly talked his ears off by the time he reached the kitchen.

"Dad, guess what!" Kelsey squealed, jumping up and down.

"What?" Edward smiled, turning to face her.

"I got an A on my history finals!" She cried happily, thrusting the paper at him. He took it from her and looked it over, smiling even more.

"Great job, honey," Edward commented, pulling her into a hug.

"That officially gives me all straight A's this quarter!" She said, walking back out into the living room. Edward turned to look at me, sighing with relief that it was now just the two of us.

"So how was your day?" He asked me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I smiled and held him close; breathing in his scent.

"Tiring as usual…I'm everyone's go-to-woman when things need to be done." I replied, earning a chuckle from him. "How was your day?"

"Same old, same old." He smirked, "My assistant, is still flirting with me. She assumes I'll go along with it."

"Well does she know you're married?" I laughed. I pulled back to continue cleaning the counters. I felt his hands rest on my waist again as he spoke.

"Yes; I always mention you and the kids. Hell, I have pictures in frames in my office. If she doesn't get the clue then, then maybe I should invite her for dinner so she can meet you; that should warn her."

"And scare the life out of her; since I'd know who she was." I smirked at the idea.

"She's too young; she's about eighteen." Edward added.

"And you old man, are thirty-six in two weeks." I teased, giving him a small kiss. Edward laughed and nodded.

"And in September, you'll be thirty-five Miss Preserved." He kissed me again; he was right about that. I always felt young with him; he was the reason I never had any stress.

"Kelsey made dinner," I said, removing the lid from the pan. "Mac and cheese?"

"I would love some," Edward laughed, leaning against the counter.

XXX

I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock blaring; I hit it with too much force and sat up, my throat thick with sleep.

I heard Edward move around, and he sat up. "Bella, what time is it?" I looked over at the clock and sighed, clearing my throat.

"Six o'clock." I answered, raking my hair with my fingers.

"Shit," Edward growled, springing up quickly. "My alarm didn't go off."

"What's wrong?" I asked, standing up.

"I'm late for work. I was supposed to in two hours early this morning." Edward said, quickly pulling on a button down.

"Since when?" I shook my head, grabbing his tie from the dresser.

"For the next week; my coworker is on vacation." He said. I put the tie on him and gave him a quick kiss.

"I have to wake the girls up." I said, kissing him once more, "I love you; tomorrow, I'll set my alarm for four am, okay?" Edward was about to protest, but I nodded, telling him it was fine.

"I love you too," He stole a third kiss before I left the room to wake up Kelsey. I let Emma sleep in until Kelsey was ready. Edward gave us all hugs and a kiss before he left for work; I was thankful his father owned the business, and would forgive him easily.

XXX

"Have a good day at school!" I said to Kelsey, who ran over to her friends; she waved back, and I was happy she wasn't afraid to do so; last thing I wanted for her was to follow everybody else. Emma played with her stuffed animal in the back seat; I was afraid to drive her to school today. The roads were still too icy, but I made it there without any scratches. I walked Emma in, and watched as she went to play with her friends. I left for work shortly afterwards; the hour drive to Seattle was intimidating. The ice, along with the busy streets, made accidents more likely to happen.

I arrived at the office then, and was greeted by my assistant, Angela Webber. "Good morning, Bella."

"Good morning, Angela." I smiled, walking over to my office, "Any calls?"

"One…from your husband." Angela replied.

"When?"

"Just a few moments ago." She said. Uh oh…

"What did he say?"

"He said something about a new alarm clock?" Angela gave me a funny look; curious as to what he meant.

"I'll call him back later," I laughed to myself, "There was a small issue this morning; his alarm clock didn't go off…he can wait." I dismissed.

"Okay; uh, aside from that, no other calls," Angela smiled.

"Yet," I said.

"Yet," She agreed with a small laugh.

XXX

I had called Edward again and told him I probably wouldn't be home until a little after seven; the roads were being blocked off from the traffic and ice; detour after detour, I finally got back on the main road. It seemed mine was the only car on the road then.

I came to a red light and, like any good driver: I waited for it to turn green. When it did, I stepped on the gas and sped up a little. It was in that moment, with my eyes focused ahead of me, that I suddenly lost control of the car. But the ice wasn't what did it; another car had slammed into the side, throwing me off the road completely. I pulled my foot off the gas with the energy I had left, but the car kept going until it hit a tree. Another tree fell on the back of the car; the force of gravity whipping me into the seat. My chest felt crushed, and it hurt to breathe. I could feel blood trickle down my leg; and the pain rip through me afterwards.

I cried out for help, but it was useless, since it was only me and that driver on the road. I frantically looked around for my phone, but it was lodged beneath the passenger's seat, and my vision was going quickly. Blood covered my right eye, and my head pounded furiously. I reached for my phone again, not stopping until my fingers pulled it towards me. I dialed 911; a woman picked up quickly, "Hello, this is 911. What's your emergency?"

"Please! My car was thrown off the road from another driver!" I cried into it, "I'm badly injured!"

"Alright, calm down ma'am. Do you know where you are?"

"Uh, I can't…I can't remember…" I stuttered.

"Okay, I'm going to track your number; we'll find you, just remain calm." She spoke a few more words that I didn't catch, and it felt like forever before I heard voices shouting out. I saw a flash of blue and red lights, but before I could answer the calling voices my eyes had closed and I blacked out.