The Path Less Taken

by branson101

One shot I wrote for Fandom for No kid hungry. Both Edward and Bella have tragedies in their pasts but it is how you deal with them and move on that matters most in life. M for language

A Path Less Taken

By Branson101

Beta: Sweetpea123

Rated Mature for Language

Summary: It is not easy to choose to take the path less taken, but the rewards are worth the effort. An all human Edward/Bella Twilight Fanfiction.

Disclaimer: SM owns everything Twilight. I am just having some fun with her babies.

Part one: The Past will always haunt you

I stood before that stupid judge. Does he really think that I have time for this community service thing? There was no way that I was going to be road kill on the side of some highway because some jerk thought I was a, what were his words again.., oh yeah, a self-entitled, spoiled, little jackass. I ought to have fired my attorney when he told me it would be better if I pled guilty and took the deal the DA was offering. "There is too much evidence against you, Edward." "It would take a miracle to get you off this time, Edward." If he wasn't my cousin I would have fired him and started the process of having him disbarred. But I wouldn't do that to my aunt. I couldn't do that to her. She didn't need to be even more disappointed in me than she already was.

So what if they took my driver's license from me for the next three years. I didn't care. It wasn't going to stop me from driving any of my cars. At least I didn't get jail time. I'd run and hide first. I don't care how much money Aunt Esme had to put up for bail. That AA garbage was just another waste of time. I wasn't a drunk, I just like to be sociable and drink with my friends. I was actually sober quite often. Don't even get me started about how the accident was not my fault. That street was not one-way before. I know I've driven down it hundreds of times. That guy in the minivan should have been paying better attention to where he was going. He hit my brand new Mercedes and I'm the one getting yelled at.

All I really heard was yap, yap, yap, could have killed someone…yap, yap, yap, lucky this time. That caused me to snort. My lawyer kicked me and the judge just got angrier. Finally the guy shut up and let us go home, saying that he'd call my attorney with my community service arrangements. Big whoop.

I turned to leave the court room and found myself face to face with my aunt. I was tempted to turn around and beg for jail time just to get out of facing her. The look on her face told me that it would be better just to go along with her. I sighed and followed her out to her waiting car.

I blamed my Dad for everything that I had become. He was rarely home when I was a kid. He strove to be the famous hotshot plastic surgeon to the stars. Until the day he screwed up and my mother was left dead. Mom was beautiful. There was no reason that she would have needed liposuction. He kept blubbering that it was an accident. He didn't mean to kill her. People almost believed his pathetic story. Then the truth about my father started coming out. He had a twenty year old mistress and mom found out and was filing for divorce. He took his life hours before the cops showed up with a warrant for his arrest, murder one.

I was shipped across the country to New York to live with Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle after that. I was only nine at the time, but I understood everything that was going on and I hated the whole world. I felt that someone should have pay for the pain I was caused.

I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to my aunt and uncle lecture and yell at me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a disappointment. I'm a loser. I already knew that. Emmett spoke, saying that when the judge called him with the community service arrangement I'd better take it seriously. This was my fifth arrest this year and it was only July, and the loser judge was fed up. It was too bad for him, because it was really doubtful that I would show up for any form of community service. I'd pay someone to do it for me if I had too. I'd done it before.

I was thirteen when I took my first drink. Some kid at school had parents that were always gone and we started raiding the liquor cabinet. I liked the taste and went for it. We hung out there quite often to drink and pretend we were adults until I was sixteen. One of my friends brought some coke with him for us to try. No thanks. I wasn't dumb enough to go there.

As soon as Esme shut up and gave up I slipped outside to the balcony to smoke. Normally I would have just lit up in the living room but Emmett and Rose's one year old daughter, Claire, was in there. I sat out there alone, smoking half the pack before I went back inside and joined everyone at the table for an early dinner. I don't know why Esme always forced me to attend these things. I always brought down the mood. No one really wanted me here. I knew they wished that I would just disappear, but were too chicken shit to say it to my face.

"Since we could all use some good news today, Emmett and I have some that we would like to share. We're going to have another baby!" I detested Rose. Everything always had to be about her. Today was my day in the spotlight. I'm the one that had the court day and walked away. But, oh no, little miss me, me, me, had to steal my attention once again. Big friggen whoop. While the sap brigade were hugging and crying I just stood up and left. I would much rather be home alone than endure another barf-worthy happy family moment.

Part Two: This has to be a sick fucking joke

That idiot judge actually thought that I was going to waste my time in a homeless shelter. No freaking way. I was not doing it. Emmett must have realized that I was going to blow it off so he added, "Oh yeah. For some crazy reason the judge doesn't trust you to actually show so he has a court officer showing up to make sure that you check in. And he means you and not someone you paid to pretend to be you." I smirked and lit a cigarette. "And no smoking with me in the room. I'd like to live to see my children get married and have children too."

"It's my apartment. You don't like it then leave. You know, they could end up being gay and not allowed to get married. Then you would have lived all that time for nothing. Your dreams will never come true."

"You know, you could make one of my dreams come true by growing up and realizing that you break my mother's heart every time you pull this shit. You know she feels that she failed Aunt Elizabeth."

I hated when any of them brought my mother into this. If she was alive I knew that she would have been disappointed in the way I behaved. If she was still alive I wouldn't have turned out like this. I stood and walked out of the room without another word, "Edward! Ten o'clock! Haven House. Be there or you will be going to jail." I stayed in the kitchen staring out the window at the city's skyline until long after I heard Emmett slam the door behind him as he left. Whatever.

I was twenty minutes late to Haven House. It wasn't my fault that the subway system was useless, but there was no way I was going to drive my car there. I didn't care if I was seen driving, I just didn't wasn't inclined to lose any of my cars to a chop shop.

The court officer copped a real attitude with me about being late. He took me inside to find the woman in charge. Bella. What a freaking pretentious name. She was probably some old hag.

"Bella! Your latest victim finally made it!"

"It's about time. I'm in the kitchen." She yelled out as we rounded a corner and entered the kitchen. There was a woman standing at the sink washing dishes. I couldn't see her face because her back was to me but the rest of her body was smoking hot. Maybe I could screw her into giving me a pass on this shit. Without even turning around she started to bark orders at me, "You can start by taking the trash out to the dumpster, just outside that door." She pointed. Ok. Maybe it would be that easy. The guy standing next to me laughed and wished me good luck before pushing me towards the garbage.

I was coming in from my third trip out to the dumpster when my court ordered friend turned to leave, "Hey", she called after him, "tell Uncle Aro thanks for the help, and I'll see him on Sunday."

"Will do, Bells!" Fuck! I was fucking set up. This shit was not going to fly with me. There had to be some way that I could complain about this shit.

"Are you done with that garbage?"

"No."

"Get to it. There is a lot of work to do."

"Maybe I don't want to do it."

"Look Edward Masen. I've read your file. You do the work to my satisfaction or I will report you to the court and you will go to jail. It's your choice."

"Maybe I should report your uncle for exploiting his position to get you slave labor."

She spun around and I jumped back when I saw how horribly scarred and disfigured her face was. It looked as if something had attacked her and clawed her face to fucking hell. "You little shit. I know you and your type. I was you once a long time ago. Everyone that is sentenced to do community service here is here because they did something stupid. If you'd much rather be in jail, then be my fucking guest and leave. I hear they need help in the city morgue, too. But the second you walk out that door know that I will call my uncle and turn your ass in." What a fucking bitch! Fine. She wanted to play that game, well, I can play too, baby. And I was determined that I was going to make my two months here a living hell for her.

"When you're done with the garbage the bathrooms need to be cleaned. If you can't find me, look for Alice." Was she fucking high on something? Before I could respond, some old guy walked in and got her attention. He was obviously one of the homeless that she catered to here. Her demeanor immediately changed. She smiled at him and called him by name. Then she poured them both a cup of coffee and sat down to talk with him. I grabbed another bag of garbage and stormed out of the kitchen. When I done, I saw that she had given him a donut and was back to work cooking. This woman was not only a massive bitch but she was also completely delusional.

Part Three: Fuck Me Running

Damn. My head was pounding as I made my way to the shelter to do my Sunday stint. Bella had asked me if I would come in early to help out. She said I could either leave early today or another day, but I knew I was going to have a hard enough time dragging my hung over ass out of bed to be here my ten.

Luckily, I remembered that the crap ass judge was going to be here today so I took the early train on the subway and made it there on time. Sure enough, there was a Mercedes parked outside. The dumbass. It'll be gone in an hour and he'll be lucky if they find the frame. I walked in the side entrance and directly into the kitchen and was taken aback by the scene in front of me. Bella and Alice were chopping vegetables at the counter, and Alice's husband Jasper had something going in the mixer. I met him the other day that Bella sent me to scrub the bathrooms, again, and I found him in there fixing a toilet. He was a pretty cool guy and easy to talk to. Judge Aro was standing at the sink washing the dishes by hand. It was the only way to wash the dishes around here. The dishwasher was broken and I couldn't understand why they didn't buy a new one or least get the old one fixed. That court officer and the court reporter were busy in the dining room setting the tables. They were putting out vases with fresh flowers and table cloths like the people that came here cared about that shit.

They were laughing and joking and then Bella looked up and saw me standing there, "I think you know everyone. The garbage needs to go out and then your bathrooms are waiting for you." I sighed and would have made a smartass comment to her, like I had the last couple of mornings, but I was not stupid enough to do that with the judge handling my case standing right there. Yeah, I was counting down the days until my suffering was over. They went back to laughing and joking and I started grabbing the garbage bags and dragging them out the door to the dumpster.

When I was done with the bathrooms she put me to work in the laundry, washing the bedding and then making all the beds in the men's dormitory. There were two; one for men and one for the women and children. Men were not allowed to go into the women's dormitory. That was the biggest and most steadfast rule around here. Most of the women were battered and abused and it was the one place they could feel safe and relax. I was to leave the cart and Alice or Bella would take care of it later.

Before I knew it, it was time for me leave, so I went to tell Bella that I was going. Aunt Esme told me that my presence was required at Sunday dinners from now on. I walked into the kitchen as they were getting ready to serve dinner.

"Ah. There is Mr. Masen. He will help us." Fucking hell. Shit. Shit. Shit. There was no way that I could tell the judge no.

"Ah. Sure. What do you need me to do?"

"Uncle Aro is going to carve the baked chickens. You are going to put the slices on platters; twelve to a platter. We serve Sunday dinner family style around here." Bella said placing the platters in front of me. That was the last thing that she said to me for the rest of the afternoon. None of them really talked to me unless they absolutely had to. I was grateful to be left the fuck alone.

Once everyone was in the dining room and seated, Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me out to the dining room. Everyone quieted down and held hands while Aro led them in prayer, "Lord, thank you for this food and all the blessings that you have graced us with in life. We are grateful for all the blessing you have bestowed upon us. May we all rejoice in all the splendor this world you created has to offer. Amen."

The rest of the room responded back 'amen.' And then it was time to bring out the supper trays. That prayer was bullshit. What the fuck did these people have to rejoice about? They were homeless. They had nothing of splendor to be grateful for. This whole fucking show that they were putting on was just ridiculous. The only thing that these people cared about was the free meal that they were getting.

I ended up being really late to our dinner, and Aunt Esme was pissed until I explained that I couldn't leave because the judge was there.

"Aro Volturi is a good guy and a fair judge." Emmett reamed at me when I started in on the guy. "You were really lucky to get him. Any other judge would have thrown your stupid ass in jail for a few years."

"Whatever." I grumbled and started eating the plate of food that Esme had warmed for me. The guy was a jackass and no one was going to change my mind on that.

Part Four: Fuck the Reasons

Seven fucking weeks. That is how long I've been stuck coming to this shithole, five days a week. Five days a week of lugging nasty garbage out to the dumpster, or cleaning bathrooms that were even nastier, of making more beds than I can count, of learning that Bella wasn't the bitch that I thought her to be.

It was Sunday again. Everyone else had left and it was just the two of us finishing the dishes. She had the radio playing in the background. That was something that I learned about her. She liked music on when she was working, whether it was in the kitchen or her office.

After the last dish was clean and put away she grabbed two slices of the chocolate cake that were left from the dessert that we'd served out of the cabinet. She put them down on a table in the dining room and turned to the fridge to get the milk out. She poured two glasses and grabbed two forks and sat down. This was new. She'd avoided me all the time.

"I want to share a story with you. A story of a stupid girl with stupid friends who made stupid decisions." I sat down at the table across from her and remained silent. "I saw you last night, out drinking with your friends. You were so smashed you could barely walk. I followed you to make sure that you and your friends weren't going to be complete dumbasses and drive in that condition. I was grateful that you guys hailed a cab so I went on home." I had no idea what she was talking about. I remembered going out but the end of the night was a bit blurry. "I didn't always have these scars. They are my constant penance for my sins." She took a deep breath, "I had these amazing parents that loved me. They constantly showed it in everything that they did for me. I was an only child until I was ten when my little sister Bree was born. We were the perfect family until I destroyed it. When I got to high school I fell in with the wrong kids. They introduced me to drinking. We would drink beer, whiskey, vodka; whatever we could get our hands on, and then pot. Somehow there was always plenty of that to go around. Sometimes there would be other drugs there. E, speed, whatever. We were having fun and didn't give a shit about anything.

My eyes shot up. It wasn't the first time I'd heard Bella swear but it was a rare occurrence. "It was my parent's wedding anniversary. Mom demanded that I watch Bree. I was pissed. I wanted to go out with my friends, not sit at home. So my friends had the brilliant idea that we have the weekly party at my house." She snorted, "That in its self should have told us how dumb we were, since my Dad was the Chief of Police. My parents weren't big drinkers so it didn't take long before the booze was gone. So we decided to move the party. My boyfriend Jake, Bree, and I got into the bed of one of the pickup trucks. We were going really fast but we were screaming and having fun so we didn't care. There was a rock in the road the guy driving didn't see in time. He hit it, sending the trucked tumbling down into the woods. The three of us were thrown from the truck. Jacob was killed instantly when he was thrown head first into a tree, but Bree and I were alive."

She was full on crying at this point. I really hoped that this fucking story wasn't going where I thought it was. I stared at my plate and played with the piece of cake, "I remember Dad coming to the scene not knowing it was us. I was still so tanked, and I can remember laughing in his face when he told me how seriously my sister was hurt. That was the last time that my father ever spoke to me." My head shot back up. "My sister was dead before they could get her to the hospital. It was my fault. I killed her. At least that is what my Mom told me when she came to my hospital room that night. The next morning Uncle Aro was there and told me that it had been decided that I would move to New York and live with him and his wife Heidi as soon as I was released from the hospital. My face had been slashed up by a piece of metal and my arm was broken. My mother never came back to see me, not even to tell me goodbye. I was told they had requested that I never attempt to see or even contact them again."

Fucking hell. How the hell did anyone survive something like that and not go completely insane, "Wow."

"Yeah. Uncle Aro kept me on a tight leash when I got here. I wasn't driving the truck so I couldn't be charged with murder one for their deaths. But I was convicted of a minor in possession and negligent homicide. Sam, the kid who was driving, is still in jail serving time for killing Bree, Jake, and Leah, his girlfriend. I wasn't even there to go to court. Uncle Aro hired an attorney for me since my parents refused to do it. The two of them worked out the deal that I would go through drug and alcohol counseling and do three years of community service in New York. A friend of his ran Haven House then and I came here to work. I was a little punk ass bitch then, just like you are. I thought I knew better than everyone else. You need to grow the fuck up, Edward, and get your head out of your ass before it's too late. Do something with your life. Don't waste one more second on the bullshit." She stood and walked away from me without another word. I sat there until a man I'd come to know as Clyde walked in and asked me for a drink of water. I got him a glass and then went straight home.

Esme was fucking furious with me for blowing off the family dinner once again, but I just couldn't fucking care at the moment. I was lost in a bottle of Jack and thinking about Bella's story.

The next morning Emmett called, yelling at me, "What the fuck did you do?"

"I don't fucking know. Tell me what has you so pissy and maybe I'll be able to remember."

"You skipped dinner yesterday with no call and this morning I get a call from Judge Aro requesting our presence in his chambers at ten sharp."

"Fuck, I don't know. Everything went fine yesterday. I stayed late because the director wanted to tell me her sob story. I have no clue what the hell is going on."

"Well get up and shower and try to sober up. You most likely smell like a bar right now. Meet me at the courthouse and don't be late."

I actually made it there before Emmett did this time. He had Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle in tow. As soon as the bailiff saw us he ushered us back.

"Mr. Masen. I have to say that it is highly unusual that I do this sort of thing but you can thank my niece for it. She told me yesterday that your work has been exemplary and you have made a great effort. She suggested that I let you out of your obligation a week early for good behavior, and from what I've seen on Sundays I have to agree. You are released from the mandate to perform any more community service at Haven House for this incident. You may go."

I couldn't believe that she did that. No one but Aunt Esme has done anything that nice for me since my mother died. I turned and followed my family out in the hall. Emmett led Aunt Esme straight to the elevators while Uncle Carlisle grabbed my arm to stop me, "We're done, Edward. I can't sit by anymore watching my wife cry over you and your fuckups. Go live your life the way you want and just let us be." He turned and got onto the elevator, leaving me standing there dumbfound. But I didn't fucking care. I didn't fucking need them. I didn't fucking need anyone. I stopped at the store on the way home to pick up the only people that ever care about me and would ever leave me, Jack, Jose, and Jim.

Part Five: Fuck the Mind Games, I want Answers

It has taken me six months to get here. Six months of hard work and struggling. Six month of baring my soul to strangers.

I stood outside the building staring up at a balcony that I could not make out before swallowing what was left of my pride and walking through the doors. I stood outside the apartment door willing myself to raise my hand and knock on it. I couldn't do it. I slid down the wall across from the door and sat there staring at it as though I was willing it to spontaneously open by itself.

I sat there for a full half hour before I got the nerve to jump up and knock. The worst they could do to me is to tell me to go away and slam the door in my face. I did it quickly before I could change my mind. I stood back ready to run if their rejection became too much for me to handle.

The woman that answered the door was shocked to see me standing there. I held out my hands and she took one look at the objects in my outstretched hands before tentatively reaching for them. She took the paper first. She gasped when she realized what she was reading. It was my grades from my first semester at NYU. The other was a token declaring that I was officially six months sober. She started crying as Carlisle came up behind her and looked at me and then the two things that Esme was holding. He grabbed Esme by the shoulder and ushered her back into the apartment before turning back to me and inviting me in. I spent the rest of the day detailing my life from the past six months, and for the first time since I was a kid I felt like someone was proud of me.

Carlisle asked me if I would join them for Sunday dinner but I declined, saying that I had somewhere that I needed to be.

She always arrived by five so I got there a half hour before that. I had found the book lying on a table in the library three weeks ago while I was studying for an exam. I took it as a sign and checked it out. I'd read it three times but I still needed to refer to it to be able to fix the damn machine. It would need to be replaced one day but for now there was still some life in it. I startled her when she wandered into the kitchen for her morning cup of coffee and to start cooking breakfast.

"Edward! What on earth are you doing here?"

"Fixing the dishwasher," I held up the wrench in my hand.

"I see that, but why?"

"I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me." I shrugged and turned back to the dishwasher. She just smiled and started mixing batter for blueberry pancakes.

When Judge Aro arrived an hour later, he was not a bit surprised to see me. Though I'd been shocked the last time I'd run into him. It was my first time going to an AA meeting and I was terrified. I was standing there waiting for the meeting to start when I felt a hand on my shoulder. He was the first to stand up at the meeting, "Hello. I am Aro and I am an alcoholic and I am twenty years sober."

After the meeting he invited me to a local diner to talk over a milkshake. He said that he got enough coffee at the meetings. I asked if Bella knew he came to the meetings and he told me that she knew all about it. He had been her sponsor when she started the process but now she attended meetings closer to her apartment. If I was surprised at myself that I asked him to be my sponsor, I was shocked that he agreed.

Part- What the fuck ever, this is the Fucking Epilogue: Five Fucking Years Later

I worked my ass off to get my degree. I still had a long way to go to get my doctorate in psychology but it was going to be worth it. I was going to specialize in children and adults with addictions. I never believed that I was addicted to alcohol until I decided to give it up. It was a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. I still have my moments that I am tempted, but I have support from Uncle Aro and Bella. He became Uncle when I married Bella a year ago.

I sighed and put down my text book when I heard Bella swearing at the dishwasher from the kitchen again. "One day we are going to have to replace it, honey."

"Pssh. I would rather spend the limited money donations we receive on food, blankets, or the clothing store. We can do the dishes by hand if we have to." We usually had to.

I kissed her and then patted her swollen stomach. She was six months pregnant with our first baby, a little girl that we had already named Briana Elizabeth, and got to work washing the dishes.

I was still working at the sink when Rose and Emmett showed up. She laughed at me and grabbed her tool box from the pantry and tried to fix the damn thing again. It became a new tradition on Sundays for my family to come and volunteer at Haven House serving dinner. But Rose had been coming several times a week practically since I came back and starting helping out voluntarily. It was through her time here that she realized that she was really good at fixing things and quickly became the maintenance department, a job that Jasper was thrilled to give up to her. Everything that she put her hands to worked good as new when she was done, except the dishwasher. She complained that the thing was a lost cause. Bella, Aro, and I disagreed. We didn't believe in lost causes.

We had all taken that belief and used our pasts to help others rise above their present situations. It had not been an easy road to get where we were. We had to struggle and fight to prove ourselves to people who only wanted to see us as addicts. But we did it; we had traveled the path less traveled and came out stronger on the other side.