Bella's POV

"I'll be back to pick you up in the morning," Edward told me as I got out of his car at my house. I was ten minutes early so I knew Charlie wouldn't be in a bad mood. Suddenly, Edward looked at the house for w minute, then back at me. "If I were you, I'd hurry up. Somebody in there is anxious to see you."

I furrowed my brow in confusion but nodded. "I love you."

He smiled genuinely. "As I love you."

I shut the door and started walking to my house. Edward drove off after I was safely inside and I shrugged out of my coat.

"Dad!" I called. "I'm home."

"In here, Bells," he called back.

I walked to the living room and found him sitting on the couch, with an enormous smile on his face.

"What is it, dad?"

"You'll never guess who came to visit." He looked to the chair that was behind me and I turned as well, to come face to face with Max. I smiled and immediately jumped into his open arms. "I'll leave you two alone to catch up." Charlie walked out the room and trudged up the stairs, something he would never do if I was with Edward.

Max is an old friend from Phoenix. We grew up together and no one had been more upset than he was to hear that I was moving to come to Forks. I loved him. Once I'd met Edward, I hadn't thought about him too much. I did miss him, of course, just not as much as I felt I should have. I tried not to let the guilt take over me and just felt relief at having his large arms around me again. After a minute, I pulled back to look into his warm, hazel eyes. They were just as bright as I remembered; only now they were surrounded by red that almost looked like a rash. He also seemed kind of pale. He must have flu or be recovering from one. I was also pretty sick during my first few days here because of the change of climate, but it does wear off. Other than that though, he hadn't changed much at all. His hair was still the dirty blond color I remembered it to be; only it no longer hung to his shoulders in an untidy way. Now it was cut and styled into spikes on his head. And his cheeks looked slightly sunken in, he had definitely lost a boat-load of baby-fat, and he hadn't had much to start with. But he was here! And I was so happy. I wasn't going to let these trivial things get in the way of my happiness tonight.

"I'm so happy you're here," I said honestly.

He nodded in agreement. "I had to see that you hadn't died on me. With your luck, you might have tripped off a bridge or something."

I grinned at how well he knew me. My bad luck had skyrocketed since I had come here. I blushed and quickly got off him. He stood up and stretched. He used to be my height and now he was much taller than me. Not as tall as Jacob, but still very tall. His muscular arms were still that, but they had lost most of their bulk. This was easily seen through his gray vest and blue jeans. The weight he had lost almost made him fragile but I knew he would never be. It was just my imagination wearing on me. I had been seeing so much muscle and supernatural abilities that I must have forgotten what normal human guys were supposed to look like.

"How did you get here?" I asked gleefully.

"My dad gave me some money to fly down here, but I decided to spend it on gas to drive. We can use the rest for our own indulgences." He winked at me. "I'll be a pain in your rib cage for the next few weeks; my school is on vacation."

I shook my head. "I don't mind! I'm glad!"

"I've been waiting here for you forever. Charlie said you were with your boyfriend Edwin and I-"

"It's Edward," I corrected. "They're not on the best terms at the moment."

He smiled easily. "Fine by me. I would like to meet him though."

"Tomorrow he's picking me up for school," I told him.

His face fell. "I was actually hoping you would take a day off for me. It's a Friday; I doubt you'll miss anything major. I wanted to talk to you, get to know how life is here."

I smiled. "You know what? I'm so happy to see you that I might just do that." I yawned and looked at the pretend bed Charlie must have set up on the couch. "You'll be okay here for tonight?" I asked.

He waved me off. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you in the morning, Bells. Love ya."

I nodded and headed to the stairs. "Good night, Max."

I left the window open and waited patiently for Edward to come in. As tired as I was I wanted to tell him the good news, even though he obviously already knew. I only had to wait about twenty minutes before I felt his cool arms around me and his lips on my forehead.

"Edward," I mumbled sleepily, stubbornly trying to tell him about Max. "My friend Max is here. He's staying here for a while. Isn't that great?" I slurred my words and was shocked that Edward understood them.

"I know. I heard his thoughts." There was a smile in his voice when he continued. "He seems very . . . genuine. He was very pleased to hear the car pull up. He actually seems nice."

I smiled dreamily. "I know. He was like my best friend in Phoenix. He's changed some, but he still acts the same. I don't think I'll go to school tomorrow; I want to spend some time with him"

He nodded and tucked me into the sheet in a way that I would still feel him but wouldn't have to endure his cold temperature against my hot skin. "I'll explain that you're sick to our teachers. I won't come pick you up. I hope you have a good time."

I sighed in contentment. "Thanks Edward. I'm happy he's here."

He chuckled. "And I'm happy that you're happy." He kissed my lips softly. "Sleep, my Bella. You've had a long day." Then he started humming my lullaby and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep myself awake any longer.

I gave in, nestling into his hard chest and let myself drift into dreams of Max and Edward. Something about All of Max's differences made me uneasy in the strangest way. I couldn't fathom it. He just didn't seem . . . right. It didn't take long for my dreams to dissolve into nightmares of the new Max. But I persistently held onto the thought that just because he looked different, didn't mean he wasn't my Max anymore. Did it?