"Dude, get this," my manager and brother Emmett Cullen said. "I've booked you a new concert."
"Em, I can't, I'm trying to focus on a new song, but I've got writer's block."
"To bad, it's a benefit concert, for our alma mater. They are trying to raise money for a new biology lab and I mentioned it to the new principal, who was all for the idea, you can't let the new principal down."
"Damn you to hell, Emmett," I said, he knew I was joking.
"Get you're band together and figure out what you're playing, oh and Alice is on her way over with a box of goodies for you and the guys."
I groaned, I could only imagine what the box of goodies was. I hung up the phone and realized I had to get the guys here. I dialed Aaron first. Than Rick and finally Joey. They'd be here soon to figure out what was going one. I heard a knock at my front door.
I opened it, letting in a steam of heat that LA was famous for. My sister was standing there with a bit of sweat dripping off her face and she was struggling with a box. I grabbed the box and let her come in. I set the box on the coffee table.
"Hey, Alice," I said, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek. I hadn't seen her since my last trip to Forks about three months ago. It was rare for her to come to LA to see me, she had two kids and a husband that consumed most of her time, of course, she didn't like to be part of the lime-light that was my rock star life.
Aaron, Rick, Joey and I had formed Heart of Stone back in high school, when we'd been freshmen at Forks High. By senior year we'd had a recording contract with a label out of Seattle, five years later, we'd been picked up by a big label, Roadrunner Music. It's been five years since than. I'd asked my brother Emmett to be our manager, I wanted somebody trustworthy, and the band agreed. Alice still helped with our wardrobe, we'd had one minor outfit malfunction, Alice had yet to agree to be our costume designer. Needless to say after that, she'd agreed and was still stationed in our hometown. She rarely came to LA with us or on tour, everything for her was done over e-mail and internet.
"So, Emmett asked me to come and deliver these from mom and dad's. He says they are for the benefit concert that Heart of Stone is playing. The new principal thinks this is a good idea, she's hoping to raise a lot of money."
"Emmett said something about the new principal, who is it."
"You don't know, oh, god, Edward, I'm so sorry. I really thought you knew. It's her," Alice said as she picked up a picture, the first girl I'd ever kissed, the one who'd stolen my heart and refused to give it back. Even though Alice and her where best friends, Alice knew the pain I'd went through after we'd separated, Alice wouldn't say her name. Alice wasn't that mean.
"Alice, I can't do this concert, especially for a new biology lab, think about the memories it will bring back."
"Dude," I heard Aaron yelling from out on my front porch.
"Edward, you have to do it, if you don't then she'll think you're a chicken, prove her and everybody wrong. Plus she really needs to see you."
I knew Alice wasn't talking about the same girl as I went to open the front door. They guys came in and I explained about the concert and how we'd be doing it, forgetting to mention that the school had a new principal.
Alice left and I opened the box, it was full of old photographs. I pulled the first one out, one of Joey and I, I was giving the rock sign, Joey had something on his head.
"Look at this old photograph," I said. "Every time I do, it make's me laugh."
"How did our eyes get so red?" Joey asked.
"What the hell is on Joey's head," Rick asked. Joey shrugged his shoulders.
"Wait a minute," I said, I grabbed the guitar that was setting in the corner. Strummed a few notes, what we'd just said could be a good base for a song.
"Wow," Aaron said after hearing the first verse. "That's brilliant, let's keep looking at pictures, maybe more idea's will come to us."
We looked at pictures of where we grew up, wondering out loud about who owned the house's now, reminiscing about the day's we try to sneak out, the second floor of my house was hard. Then we moved on to pictures of Forks High, Joey wondered if it was to late to go back and graduate.
"Remember when we'd break in for the hell of it, I think our criminal records say we done it twice," Rick said.
"I must have done it half a dozen times," I said, the new principal had been with me back then, we'd go with out the others, it was our alone time.
"Look, it's Kim," Joey said.
"Kim was my first kiss, I was so nervous that I nearly missed," Aaron said.
"Kim was mine too," Rick said.
"She must have had it bad for Hearts of Stone, cause she was my first kiss as well," Joey said.
Kim had always followed the four of us around, she'd be found hanging out at the arcade that we blew every dollar at.
"Wasn't mine," I said.
"That's right, you had what's her face," Joey joked. Even he was smart enough to know not to bring her name up, right now.
"You know, Kim was always at the old arcade down on main, I heard somebody went and burned it down, to bad, it would have been nice to visit our old stomping ground," I said.
Around mid-night that night, we had a new song, we'd be recording it as soon as we got some time in the booth. Soon I hoped, it was golden, we ran over it a few times.
"Anybody who hang's with us, should be use to staying up until six in the morning."
"Ain't nothing wrong with going all night long."
"Yea, well, since we have been going since this afternoon, I'm heading to bed," I said, I walked up the stairs and crashed as soon as my head hit the bed.
"Good morning, love," I said to the sweet temptress in my arms, it was our one year anniversary, we only had a few day's together before I'd have to leave again for another leg of the tour, I'd flew home just to be with my beautiful wife on our anniversary.
"Good morning," she said as she stretched. Her smooth, bare legs rubbing against my hairy legs, causing me to feel things that wouldn't be good at this time in the morning, we'd never get up, which I wouldn't mind, but she had classes today, and she hated skipping classes. "Five more minutes?"
I looked at the alarm clock on her dresser, it was eight and she had class at nine. I kissed her again on the neck, looking at the love bite's I'd left there. I chuckled.
"No, five more minutes and you'll be late," I said.
"What are you laughing about?"
"Your love marks."
"You left marks, you dumb-ass," she said playfully.
"Well, it is our anniversary."
"So, nobody knows we are married. I'd like to keep it that way, I don't want anybody knowing yet, only our close family. I don't want photographers following me."
Damn dreams, I woke up just as it was getting good, we'd went to the shower after words and she'd never made it to classes, we'd spent the day in bed, celebrating our first of many anniversaries. I wouldn't cry over it, that wasn't my life anymore, I wasn't the man she'd married, I was a rock star, and that's how I lived my life. The life that involved me being on the road, one that had women in my bed every night if I so choose, that's how Rick and Aaron live, Joey was married to Kim, something no body had seen coming, and they keep a low profile, Kim lived in Forks with Joey part time, where they where raising a family, they had two kids, a son and daughter, Joey Jr. and Michelle, JJ was four and Michelle was going on seven.
I'd wanted children at one point, still did to some degree, but the guys save for Joey said I was still young and I had lots of time before I settled down, none of them, not even Joey knew about my marriage. Only family, the way she'd wanted.
I got up and started my morning routine, making the phone call that I had to before anything, or I'd be in trouble. Then it was off to work out and finally a shower all before noon. Then I was off, I was meeting the guys at the recording studio, we'd managed to get in quickly.
"Uncle Edward," I heard as I walked in, Kim must be here with JJ and Michelle. Kim tried to make trips down to LA once a month with the kids so they could see their father. Michelle came running up to me and I held my arms out as she ran into them, I swung her up and gave her a big hug. "I've missed you."
"Oh, Chelly I've missed you too." When JJ had first started talking, he couldn't say Michelle, so it came out as Chelly, which had stuck after JJ started saying her full name, he still proudly boasted about being the first to call her that. He meet a Shelly once day and asked if her full name was Michelle, we all laughed.
"Hi, Kim," I said as I put Michelle down and picked up JJ, I gave Kim a kiss on the cheek. "Hi, JJ."
"Uncle Edward, I start school in the fall, mommy says. I don't know who my teacher is yet."
"So," I asked my wife of four years, Hearts of Stone where on break and I'd flown in to surprise her at her college graduation, she was done with her undergrad work. "What are you going to do now that you're done with school?"
"Oh, the million dollar question, hmm... I think I am going back to Forks and teach kindergarten, I've always loved little kids," she perked her head up, I heard what she heard as well, "I'll be right back, don't leave."
"I wouldn't, you know that, I'm always here for you."
Damn those little things that triggered my memories of her.
"That's cool, JJ, are you looking forward to it?"
"I don't know, Chelly thinks that I'll get bullied."
"And I told Michelle to stop scaring him like that," Kim muttered.
"Are we doing this or what," Aaron yelled, "I left a hot chick in my bed to make the call to get this studio time, now we're here, and I want to get back to that chick."
We went to work and a few hours later, we had a new song. Emmett had said we'd be premiering it at the benefit concert.
The weeks flew by and we recorded another new song, I'd gotten the idea that night we'd worked on Photographs. That was two new song's we'd be singing at the benefit. Of course I'd also see her again. That would be the down side. My phone chirped. A song that meant it was family calling, not Alice though, she had her own ring tone.
"Hello," I said, knowing full well who it was.
"Hi, she's been asking about you."
"What have you told her?"
"Not much, just that she'd see you at the concert, she can't even contain herself, you should call her."
"I will, I always call her once a week."
"I know, she just wishes she heard from you everyday."
"I'll try better," I promised and hung up. I'd promise something and I wasn't going to let her down. Neither of them.
I made the call and talked to her for awhile, talking with her about everything possible under the sun, we hung up some time later, a smile in her voice, I knew she'd never sleep tonight, I'd promised her that I'd call her tomorrow. She never sleep well when I promised her something so important to her.
The concert was in just a week and I'd flown to Forks early to spend some time with her, if she'd let me. Which she would, I'd do my hardest to make sure she spent some time with me.
"How could you, Edward," my wife of nine years yelled at me, I hated her yelling at me, I don't even know what I did. I gave her a look. "You called me another girls name during our most intimate time, Edward, how could you."
Oh, shit, what name did I call her, I'd thought I said her name.
"My name's not Tonya, Edward, it's..."
"I'm sorry, it must have slipped, I know your name, I've always known my wife's name."
"Get out, go fuck Tonya, I don't care, just get the fuck out and leave me alone," she yelled.
I turned and walked out.
Tonya is the record label's president, I'd been thinking about Tonya, who was sixty, when I'd been jumped by my wife, I'd said Tonya for the first time, but her name during the rest of it, I wasn't expecting to be jumped, it slipped. Most men did it, didn't they?
A month after that, I'd gotten divorce papers from her, she'd been that upset, she'd been happy to hear from me when I called every week. Why the divorce papers. Alice had said she'd not been seeing anybody, so that couldn't be it, she hadn't traded me in for a younger model, so what.
She'd been that mad over the incident, I'd finally dragged it out of her. I'd tried to explain, but she was a worrier, always had been, always would be, she was worried I was fucking other girls. She handed me the papers, which I'd taken so my lawyer could look over them, I never gave them to the lawyer. We where still legally married, I'm shocked she hadn't mentioned it when we'd last talked, maybe she'd forgiven me.
I pulled up to Forks High in my Volvo that my parents keep here for me when I wanted it. I remembered all the stupid stunts we'd done, I noticed they'd patched the window we'd broken twelve years ago, it had been our sneak in window, I wondered if I could still get on the roof, the new principal probably made sure it was fixed, she'd know that was my entrance to the school. I walked into the front door. Nobody was in the halls, thankfully, I'd have been mobbed. I headed for the front office, towards where her office would be.
"Edward," I heard as I swung the door open, Angela Weber was sitting at the receptionist desk. "What are you doing here, I didn't think you where due in until Thursday."
"Came in early to see the school and other stuff. Is the principal in?"
"Um... she's in a meeting right now, you can sit and wait here, if you'd like."
I didn't wait, I walked right in. There was a women sitting opposite the principal, a little girl with bronze colored, curly locks was sitting beside her, hanging her head in shame, the little girl was six years old, I wondered what she'd done.
"Ms. Swan, I don't know what to do, Renesseme keeps saying that her father is Edward Cullen. I don't tolerate lying in my class, the first time I'd let her by, the second, I got concerned, the third I warned her, by the eighth time hearing this, I asked her myself, she refused to believe anything else, she keeps saying Edward is her father. Nessie was conceived during your college years," Ms. Polk was saying, still going on about me not being her father, Bella, Ms. Polk nor Nessie had seen me come in.
I cleared my throat, the three ladies jumped, as they looked up. Nessie was the first to recover.
"Daddy," she said as she ran to me, jumping into my arms. I smothered her with kisses, she giggled.
"So," I asked, "if we are discussing my daughter, why wasn't I invited."
"Edward, you had no right to barge in here, unannounced," Bella said, standing, I took a sharp intake of breath, she had a tiny bump in her stomach.
"I have every right, Isabella, she's my daughter, and it looks like I have another on the way."
Ms. Polk was looking confused and glancing between, my daughter, my wife and unborn child and myself.
"Ms. Polk, leave, this is nothing but a family matter," I almost growled at my old teacher, she looked a bit scared and fled out of the room.
"You never sent me the papers back," Bella said.
"I never signed them, don't want to. What's going on with Nessie?"
"She keeps saying you're her father," Bella said, placing a protective hand on her stomach, not saying anything about the unsigned papers.
"Well, she can't tell the truth?"
"Edward, you show up for a few day's every three or so months, even then, you are packed with seeing you're other family here, that Nessie and I hardly get any time with you."
Her telling me that, I wanted to weep, I wanted to cry for their forgiveness, something I didn't deserve. I wanted to fall to the ground and beg for them to forgive me, I didn't deserve them. Yet I had them and hardly gave them the time of my life.
I set Nessie down and walked out of the office, Nessie wailing behind me, wanting me, even though I wasn't in her life that often, she loved me, her and her mother, the women I'd loved for years, since we'd started sneaking around in freshman year, I didn't deserve any of them.
I found the place I'd use to be able to get to the roof, it was still an easy climb, Bella hadn't closed it off. I climbed up and set on the roof, for hours, thinking about everything.
Alice found me there some time later, I had tear stains running down my face, I knew that she saw them, and was thankful when she set down and placed her arms around me.
"Bella called."
I nodded, knowing full well that she'd call Alice after the display in the office, she'd have called the entire family, trying to find me. Bella was loyal, even when she was pissed.
"Alice, what am I going to do. I don't feel like a great person, I've fucked up so much, all I want is a life with Bella, Nessie and the baby."
"Bella isn't going to be willing to be nice and forgive you easily. It's going to have to be something huge that will win her over."
We set there a bit longer, Alice with her arms around me, cuddling me like we had when we'd been young and scared of storms.
I went out with Nessie every night, we'd ate out, we'd went to see a movie, we'd done just about everything we could, I realized I loved her so much. Bella refused to talk to me, I always said hi and bye when I picked up and dropped off Nessie. I was still married to Bella but I felt like we where already divorced. I would fight for that not to happen, I swear, Bella and I would be together almost ten years ago when we'd been married.
Was it really ten years already, it would be, the night of the concert, I'd forgotten, I felt like a jack ass. What I had up my sleeve would make up for it.
We where doing sound check when I stopped, Nessie was in the wings watching, I'd gave her a back stage pass, along with one for Bella, but Bella hadn't come, she'd sent Alice and earplugs.
"Guys, I'm quitting the band," I said, Aaron stopped drumming, I heard Joey choke while singing back up. Rick hit a wrong note on his bass.
They stood up as I saw Alice shuffle Nessie away, Alice knew my plan, she also knew that Nessie shouldn't hear about it until it was finalized.
"What," Aaron asked. The others gave me confused looks.
"Well, Bella and I where married ten years ago. That little girl with Alice, that's my daughter, I've been a dead beat dad all these years, and she's six, I want to spend time with her. This will be my last performance, I'm sorry."
"Dude, who's going to replace you, you sing lead vocals."
"Joey, he'll move to lead, he's got the voice. I'm sorry, but I can't."
"If you're done, then Heart of Stone is done. I'm not playing without you," Joey said, the other two backed him up.
"Then we call the label tell them our decision's and see what happens."
Together, we called the label, they where upset, but when we explained about wanting to, well Joey and I, be family men, Tonya understood and said that if we ever decided to make a come back album we where more than welcome to use the studio. We thanked her and prepped for our final concert ever as Heart of Stone.
Nessie helped me pick out what to wear, than I took her to where her mother was seated, in the VIP area with Kim and her kids. Nessie said hi to JJ and Michelle. Kim was in on our big plan tonight, she'd been told of what we where doing. I kissed Nessie and headed back to the back stage.
We walked out on stage, the cheers where so loud, people where chatting 'Heart of Stone', I looked at Bella, her arms where crossed and she was sitting, Nessie was pointing at me, I waved at her. My beautiful little girl and unborn child where here to see the last concert I'd be giving in a while.
"Hi," I stepped up to the microphone. "We're Heart of Stone, as if you didn't know that, what you might not know, is that, this is where Heart of Stone started, in Forks. The four of us where best friends here growing up, it's a great privilege to play in Forks as superstars, Forks is the place where grew up, and where we still think of as our home. So, Forks, this is for you."
We strummed the first cords to one of our older songs and the fans went wild. We where a few songs in and decided to play Photographs.
"Okay, so you came here tonight to support Forks High, well, recently, the band and I where thinking back on our home town and where looking through some photo's when a new song came to us. So here it is, for the first time ever, something that we've had under wraps for a while. Photograph."
Look at this photograph
Everytime I do it makes me laugh
How did our eyes get so red
And what the hell is on Joey's head
And this is where I grew up
I think the present owner fixed it up
I never knew we'd ever went without
The second floor is hard for sneaking out
And this is where I went to school
Most of the time had better things to do
Criminal record says I broke in twice
I must have done it half a dozen times
I wonder if it's too late
Should i go back and try to graduate
Life's better now than it was back then
If I was them I wouldn't let me in
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, god, I
Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
Remember the old arcade
Blew every dollar that we ever made
The cops hated us hangin' out
They say somebody went and burned it down
We used to listen to the radio
And sing along with every song we know
We said someday we'd find out how it feels
To sing to more than just the steering wheel
Kim's the first girl I kissed
I was so nervous that I nearly missed
She's had a couple of kids since then
I haven't seen her since god knows when
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, god, I
Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
I miss that town
I miss the faces
You can't erase
You can't replace it
I miss it now
I can't believe it
So hard to stay
Too hard to leave it
If I could I relive those days
I know the one thing that would never change
Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it, time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye.
Look at this photograph
Everytime I do it makes me laugh
Everytime I do it makes me...
"Thank you, Forks." I yelled after the song, even Bella was wiping her eyes, she'd watched the back drop with pictures full of our time in Forks. We'd tried to make them time up pretty close to what we where singing, than when we where talking about the photo of a friend, a picture of Bella and I popped up. That's when she'd started crying, that's when I knew she was still in love with me.
We played one more song, than it was time for the announcement.
"Well, Forks we've sure loved being here, but our time is growing to a close, and I don't just mean the concert. The Hearts of Stone, have decided," I felt my heart dropping as I said these words. "We've decided, to step back, we won't be releasing any new songs in the near future, we will release Photograph and This Afternoon, another new song we will play a bit later. But Joey and I refuse to be away from our families, I've been fortunate to be loved by millions, but the only love I have really wanted over the last ten years, is that of my wife and daughter, which they gave me, without question, but I never gave it back, I didn't give them much love back.
"So it is with a heavy heart," I said, staring strait at Bella. I couldn't even finish what I was saying, I jumped off stage, and went strait to her.
"Edward, you can't leave the band," Bella said.
"Bella, I love you, I forgot that along the way, looking at those photo's, made me realize how much I needed you in my life, you are my life now."
I was crying, she knew I was, I crashed my lips down on her's, her soft lips that didn't give up a fight, I kissed her like I'd never kissed her.
"That's my mommy and daddy!" I heard Nessie cry behind me. I broke my kiss from her, and picked my daughter up.
"I love you," I told Nessie.
"I love you, too, daddy," Nessie said, I gave her a big kiss on the forehead and giving Bella one more kiss, I headed back up to the stage. Still holding Nessie.
"I'm not sorry that we are done," I continued, "I wish I could be sad about this, but I can't be, it's cost me my family, and I have another child on the way, I can't let that baby grow up the same way Nessie did. But tonight, the party is going hard. I just have one more thing to say, I said I'd make it to the tenth year, happy anniversary Bella Swan-Cullen, will you please re-marry me?"
She nodded and we launched into another song, I hopped off stage again, leaving Joey to lead vocals. I helped Nessie down and went back to the mother of my babies, we kissed and finally I was complete.
"Looks like we lost our lead singer for the night," I heard Joey, I felt a camera on my back, I flipped him off and kissed Bella again.
"I love you, Edward Cullen," she said and placed my hand on her stomach, I felt a kick, our baby had kicked my hand, I'd never felt anything like it, I'd never felt Nessie kick.
"I love you, Bella Cullen, I'll always be here for you, don't forget that."
I kissed her again and was lost.