A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first story, all kinds of feedback are welcome. Don't worry, there will be more Edward/Bella in future chapters. :)

Bella lazily rolled over in her bed, smashing the top of her alarm clock to make the loud beeping sound stop. She breathed a deep heavy sigh and gently patted the empty space that was next to her.

It's been one year and two months and I still miss you like crazy..

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she quietly sobbed into her pillow. She lay there for a few moments before collecting herself. She had to get ready for work. Everyday was the same ordeal. She would wake up, sometimes from a pleasant dream, other times from a nightmare. She would cry into her pillow, get ready for work, eat breakfast, talk to Alice. It was the same routine every morning. She thought it would get easier but in all honesty, it was harder everyday.

It took Bella a long time to sleep in her bedroom – their bedroom – again. She didn't think she would ever have the strength to. As she was getting dressed, she opened the closet and took out her favourite 2 piece suit – a dark navy pencil skirt with a matching navy blazer. As she reached for the blazer, something fell out of the pocket. It was a note, scrawled with his handwriting. Bella sighed, and did the same thing she did every time she pulled out the suit – she opened the note and read its contents:

Bella, my love.

Every time you step into this suit I want you to remember how powerful, brave and strong you are. You can do anything you set your heart and mind to, I fully believe in you and the great things you will achieve in your new job. And if this doesn't pan out the way you want it to, remember that I am always there for you and I love you.

Edward

She sighed again, and tucked the note back into her pocket on her blazer. Her fingers lazily thumbed over his clothing, still hanging in the closet, and she leaned in to inhale his scent. She did not have the desire to put his things away like Esme had suggested – everything of his remained exactly as it was. She couldn't let him go.

After she dressed, washed up, and made herself look somewhat presentable, she proceeded to head downstairs to make some breakfast. The light on the answering machine was blinking; she pressed the "play" button and listened to her messages while she at her cereal.

"Hi honey, it's Esme, give me a call, or any one of us. We're here for you. We love you and we can't wait to see you tomorrow night."

Bella groaned. She completely forgot that she had dinner plans later that evening. Just perfect, she thought. She was not in the mood to be social – she hadn't been in the last year. With one last gulp she downed her cereal and grabbed her car keys and briefcase. Just as she turned out the lights and headed out the door she whispered, "Happy Birthday, Edward."

Ten years earlier...

Sixteen year old Bella bounded towards her gorgeous bronze haired boyfriend. She leaped into his arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday!!" she cried. The bronze haired boy laughed and kissed her back, soundly, before gently placing her back on the ground.

"What did you have in mind tonight?", he asked.

"Oh you know the usual, Alice has some big dinner planned for you, Emmett is going to throw food at you, Jasper is going to in the end clean up said food and Rose is just going to laugh at the whole scenario. And of course your parents are making you a ridiculously large birthday cake. Apparently sixteen is quite the milestone."

Edward laughed at her comment. She always made him smile.

"Come on, if we're late for class, Mr. Sharpe will be furious and will no doubt place us in detention!" cried Bella as she dragged her God of a boyfriend by the shirt sleeve. But before they entered the building, she coyly whispered into his ear, "And if you play your cards right, you'll get an extra special birthday gift from me." She winked at Edward before jetting off to class, with a stunned, puppy dog Edward trailing after her.

It was 12:30 in the afternoon, just about time for lunch. Any minute, Bella would be receiving a call from Alice telling her to meet her downstairs so they could lunch together. A moment later Bella's phone vibrated, indicating that she had received a text from none other than Alice herself. Bella took the elevator downstairs to greet her best friend.

"You look like hell, Bella", said Alice with a worried look on her face.

"Thanks, I love you too," replied Bella. "Where did you want to go for lunch? The usual?"

"Sounds like a plan."

And with that the two girls left the large glass building Bella worked at and headed over to "The Salad Bar" for lunch. Once they were seated and ordered their usual (Chopped house salad with extra dressing and a water with lemon wedge), Alice began to do her usual drilling of questions.

"How much sleep have you been getting lately? You always look so tired."

"Oh, I don't know Al, 4 hours a night? At most? I have been having all these dreams lately. Some pleasant, others not so much."

"Do you want to tell me about them? You know I'm always here for you." replied the spiky haired pixie.

Bella stared blankly at Alice for along period of time, but soon she snapped out of her reverie and began to cry. The tears did not stop.

"Oh, Bella", and Alice got out of her seat and went over to her best friend and gave her a comforting hug.

Later that evening, Bella and Alice arrived together at La Traviata, the restaurant where they were going to be celebrating Edward's twenty-sixth birthday. Once they stepped into the restaurant, they surveyed the place looking for the rest of the Cullens. Waving frantically from the back of the restaurant was Esme. Carlisle stood up from his seat to greet Bella and Alice. Bella gave each family member at the table a hug – it had been a few weeks since she had talked to them, with the exception of Alice of course. After they were all seated, the waiter came around the table and took their orders. It was silent for a few minutes before Esme cleared her throat, clearly about to make an announcement.

"Tonight, as you are all aware, would have been Edward's twenty-sixth birthday. You all know how much he loved to be around friends and family, and he would be so happy to see that everyone is here, together", Esme was finding it harder to talk, she was holding back tears. "He loved you all so much, he loved his life, everything. Too soon he was taken from us", and with that Esme could no longer control herself and she broke down into sobs. Bella squeezed her hand tightly, and Carlisle wrapped his arms around Esme, comforting her.

"I think what Mom is trying to say," said Emmett, stepping in, "is 'Happy Birthday, Edward'. We love you and miss you, bro. Cheers." And with that Emmett raised his glass and everyone around the table raised their glasses to his.

"Cheers", they all echoed, and drank the champagne.

After the speech, the food came shortly after and everyone began eating. They were all chatting about their day and filling in Bella in on everything she had missed in the last few weeks. Emmett was telling her his stories about being a teaching assistant at his college where he was finishing up grad school – and as always his stories were hilarious. Rosalie, Jasper and Alice were having an animated conversation about this new documentary that came out in theatres a few nights ago, while Carlisle and Esme were listening intently. Tonight was the first time in a few weeks that Bella had laughed loudly. She looked around the table, drinking her champagne, and saw the smiles on everyone's faces. She couldn't help but smile too. She was so grateful for her friends and family.