Lips of an Angel

Pairing: Edward & Bella

Rating: M

Summary: A ten year reunion brings former sweethearts Bella and Edward back into each others lives. How will their reconnection affect the significant others they have back home?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own twilight or the song Lips of an angel. Those belong to S. Meyers and Hinder respectively.

Edward sat in his home office, but there was not any work getting done. His mind was still over two-thousand miles away in Forks, Washington. But his heart-that had left Washington state about twenty minutes before he did, on a flight heading to Los Angles.

Since coming back from his ten year high school reunion a week ago, Edward couldn't find any focus. Even in sleep the thoughts of what took place on that trip plagued him. Not that he necessarily minded; if he could have lived in those passing moments forever, he would have. So when his cell phone started ringing, Edward was quick to answer it-especially after seeing Bella appear on the display.

"Honey, why are you calling me so late?" Edward asked in a very hushed tone. Noticing his fiancée walking from their bedroom to the bathroom, he quickly added, "It's kind of hard to talk right now."

"E-E-Edward," was the pitiful response he received. Many times in high school and when he first went to college he'd heard this greeting. Bella's tearful hellos always caused an ache in Edward's chest and it seemed that eight years passing since the last one hadn't changed his reaction.

"Honey, why are you crying, is everything okay?"

Bella sniffled into her phone; she was sure that anyone passing her car would think she was crazy. She was dressed to kill in a beautiful cocktail dress, but the tears and smeared makeup running down her face ruined the look. All the words she tried to speak came out mumbled and garbled as her hysteria continued to grow.

"He… I … said he wanted a b-b-baby… But I c-can't… We yelled… Ran out," where the sputtered explanations she offered.

"Listen, I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud. But Bella, I need you to calm down, honey. Take some deep breaths," Edward tried to soothe.

It took her a few moments, but Bella was eventually able to calm herself down. "Can you talk now?" she asked, her words sounding desperate even to herself. Her night had not gone as expected and she called had him in hope that hearing his voice would quell the storm raging inside of her.

"Well, my girl's in the next room, but I can talk."

Though his words were the truth, it still stung Bella to hear him call anyone other than her his girl. The feelings swarming inside her caused any words she had prepared to get stuck in her throat.

"So, what's going on? You kind of have me worried," Edward pressed on.

"Riley," Bella started and Edward had to fight down the growl threatening to escape him at that name. Last week at the reunion, the former high school sweethearts had a chance to catch up. To say he was shocked at the news would be an understatement-Edward was absolutely flabbergasted that Bella was married. The sole reason they had spilt while in college was because she claimed to not be ready, with no foresight as to when she might want to settle down.

Edward wasn't angry with her; not anymore at least.

It had been a hard pill to swallow when Edward had listened to Bella explain how she was no longer Miss Swan, but rather Mrs. Biers. Hearing the tale of how their matrimony came to be was difficult at best, especially since it seemed the Bella was not completely happy with her new role as a wife. Her recollections had led him to believe that while she cared deeply for her husband, she wasn't quite so fond of their marriage.

The picture painted to him, not just through Bella's words but also by her tense body language and facial reactions, had brought Edward to the conclusion that Bella had almost been conned or forced into this.

Evidentially this Riley guy was a smooth talker; he could verbally run circles around anyone and make them do exactly what he wanted. And he'd wanted Bella enough to get her to marry him during a romantic weekend get away to Las Vegas. When the dust of their actions had settled and they were on their way back to L.A., Bella had come to doubt the choices they'd made. But with his bag of conversational tricks, Riley had not only convinced Bella to stay married, but to move in with him.

Bella had given in and agreed to make things work; the only problem with this, as she had told Edward, was how unhappy she was. The spark that had once been full of heat in their relationship had long since fizzled. If she was being honest, Bella could admit that it had been fading since before the ill-fated trip to the city of sin. She had been using that getaway as a last chance to salvage what she thought their relationship could have been.

Two years later, she was still with him but unsure as to why. He was a great partner and would always provide security for her, but she just wasn't in love with him anymore. She often questioned if she ever had been. Seeing Edward at the reunion had given her the answer to her ponderings. Yes, she had been in love with Riley, but not enough-never enough.

Edward's rage over the bastard known as Bella's husband continued to grow as she explained her current state of tears "He said he wanted us to have a baby. He wants to start trying now; said it was time. But the only thing I could think of was how I can't. Not with him."

"A baby? Is he out of his mind? Seriously, this dude must be crazy," Edward whisper-yelled into the phone.

While Bella was upset over her situation, she was downright pissed at Edward's reaction to it. Who was he to talk? she thought. He was engaged with a baby of his own on the way.

"Excuse me?" she barked out. "Aren't you the one with a knocked up fiancée?" When Edward didn't answer, she gave him a sarcastic, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Edward was frustrated. He knew Bella was right, in a way. Sure, from the outside looking in, it seemed he had it all. A sweet, caring, beautiful fiancée with a child on the way and a career he loved. But things were not always as they seemed.

Edward and Tanya, his now fiancée, had been in a fairly casual relationship for a few months. Neither was all that interested in making things more serious; they each had demanding jobs that required the majority of their time and attention. In truth, they were more of good friends who enjoyed hanging out together and occasionally hooking up. With work taking the top priority in each of their lives, there was little room left to date or troll bars for a fling. It was just easier to turn to each other for basic companionship and sexual gratification.

That all changed the day Edward received an unexpected phone call from Tanya. They'd usually made plans for their next date at the end of the previous one, so hearing from her in the middle of his work week was baffling. Knowing that she wouldn't have contacted him unless it was an emergency, he'd quickly agreed to meet with her at her condo that night.

Edward's world was turned upside down after being inside Tanya's home for five minutes. Their discussion had led him in a direction he neither expected, wanted nor was prepared for. Tanya's big confession was that she was pregnant and the child belonged to Edward. There was no chance it was not his, she had not only claimed to have only been with him over the past year, but the timeframe of conception matched with a time they had been together.

Being that he was and always had been a stand up guy, Edward proposed. He wasn't really in love with Tanya, but he'd never imagined not being there for his future children. The two sat down and discussed both the pros and cons of a hypothetical marriage and had determined that it could work. They were good enough friends and both were committed to being a parent to their child.

"You know damn well that my situation and yours are different," Edward said through gritted teeth. Realizing the conversation had the potential to get loud, he got up to close the door. "I'm doing what I think is the right thing. But what's your excuse, Bella? Why be with him if you hate it and have nothing tying you to him? Huh?"

"Because.." Bella trailed off, all the fight and anger leaving her, only to be replaced with heartache and longing. "It's the second best choice. Even if I leave, I won't get what I want… I won't get you."

Edward rubbed his chest over his heart; he could hear her crying and it made him ache. For the millionth time since they became reacquainted, he found himself lost in thoughts of her and what their lives could have been if they'd stayed together in college.

"I know, honey, trust me... I know," he whispered to her. "Because sometimes... I wish she was you."

A/N

It was always something I could see playing out in my mind every time I heard the song 'Lips of an Angel'.

I had planned on writing this whole thing and then posting, but I'm impatient- I also like to pretend that by posting something, I don't feel as horrible about the standstill One Hundred Percent has hit.