"Good morning, kiddo. I didn't expect you to be up so early. You got in kinda late last night." Charlie sat in his spot at the kitchen table and watched Bella cook breakfast.

With a smile, Bella handed him a cup of coffee, made just right. "I did get in late, but I couldn't sleep today." She shrugged and turned back to the stove.

"Are the Cullens still in town?" Bella looked over her shoulder to see her father's response.

"Nah. After Alice graduated, Dr. Cullen got a job somewhere in California. Edward is still in town, if that's what you really want to know." His voice was solemn.

"Look, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but that boy has issues. He's not the same kid you knew in high school, Bella." He paused, unsure of what warning he could offer.

"Is he in trouble or something, Dad? I mean, why didn't he go with his parents? What...what happened to him?" Bella's voice was strained. No one knew about the time she spent with Edward or how they had shared their dreams, their hopes for the future. How they were friends and lovers together while they were stuck in a town that did not understand them. Lost in her memories, she didn't notice Charlie's lack of response.

Bella put the breakfast plates on the table and the two ate in silence.

Only after he was finished did Charlie answer her question. "I don't know why Edward didn't leave. No one does. It's like that guy did more than break his arm. It's like Edward was broken. Shattered. Carlisle didn't know what to do or how to help him. He went through physical therapy and everyone encouraged him to get help, but he wouldn't talk to anyone. Carlisle said he kept saying something about there being only one person who would understand, but he wouldn't say more than that." Charlie shook his head and stood to put his plate in the sink.

"Listen, Bella. I have to head to work, but let's go to the diner tonight. Start a new tradition, huh?"

"Okay, Daddy. I'll see you tonight, then." Bella fought back her emotions long enough for Charlie to close the door and for her to run to her room.

Questions plagued her,the whys overtaking her as she cried into her pillow. Slowly, as the storm passed, her thoughts began to calm and she wandered to the bathroom. After a hot shower, Bella made her decision. It was no accident that she was not happy at school. She was meant to come home. She was meant to find Edward. In her heart, she knew that he still needed her, and the love she never forgot was still within her. They were meant to be and she was determined to make it real.

*F*

Edward woke, as he did most days, to a too bright light. This morning, his breath was less atrocious than usual, but his head hurt more.

He had spent the night reliving all the emotions he had worked so hard to bury,the whys overtaking him, filling him with anger and regret. He was livid that she had shown up. It took him hours to realize that his anger at her was because he did not want to feel the hope she brought with her. He didn't want to admit that he was embarrassed that she had seen what he had let himself become.

He closed his eyes and recalled her face. In just two years, she had gone from young girl to woman. He remembered how her full cheeks pinked when he whispered lascivious words in her ear. Now her high cheekbones were more prominent and curved in toward a slender jawline. Her eyes were still so big and showed everything.

She wasn't as obvious in her shock as most people, but Edward had seen it flash in her eyes. He stared at his reflection in the toothpaste-spattered mirror. Without feeling any humor, he chuckled at the opposites in their appearance. While Bella's face had thinned, Edward's had rounded out. Gone were the high cheekbones and sharp jawline, obscured by fat, paunchy jowls. His eyes were set deeper, harder to see because of the roundness of his face.

He stepped back, sighing at the wreck in the mirror. The only six-pack he had anymore resided in the fridge. Gone was the physique of a track runner, baseball player, weekend football player, and tennis player. In a passing thought, he wondered how hard it was to get into Sumo wrestling.

"Fuck it," he muttered to himself before laying back down to avoid the rest of the day. Just as his head hit the pillow, he heard a knock at his door.

"Leave me alone, Bella!" he bellowed at the door without moving. He waited, holding his breath, to see if she would try again. She always was persistent. When the knock sounded again, he heaved himself back off the makeshift bed and trudged to the door.

"I don't want to do this," he said while opening the door. As it always did, his breath caught when he saw her smile.

"I brought lunch," Bella said, thrusting drinks into his hands and pushing past him. If she was shocked and revolted at the hovel, she didn't react in any way that Edward could see. With a casual motion, she pushed all the crap off the counter onto the the ever-growing pile of trash.

"Well, come on. There's no way you've had a home-cooked meal." She looked pointedly at the pile of plastic trays on the floor. "I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes." When Edward made no effort to move, she walked over, looped her arm through his and walked him to the counter.

While Edward stood dumbfounded, staring down at her, Bella began pulling food out of a picnic basket and arranging it on a plate in front of him.

"Why are you here?" he managed to whisper, stopping Bella's whirl of activity.

Sighing, she put down the spoon before bracing her hands on the counter and looking up at Edward. "Because you need me."

"The fuck I do!" Edward yelled, slamming his hands on the counter. "You left without looking back, Bella. I need fuckall from you." He stabbed the air with one finger to make his point.

"How was I supposed to know? You stopped calling me! You stopped answering my calls and my emails. I thought you..." She choked on the heartbreak these memories held. She cleared her throat. "I thought you moved on and didn't...you moved on." Bella turned her back to Edward and swiped at the tears collecting in her eyes. She had told herself she wouldn't cry. Once she regained her composure, she turned back to see that she was alone in the tiny space.

Without fully considering her actions, she nosed around until she found the stash of garbage bags and started to pick up the trash in the kitchen and living room. She decided to take the fact that Edward hadn't actually kicked her out of his apartment as a step in the right direction.

After Bella took the garbage out, she searched for cleaning supplies. Having found none, she wondered just how long Edward had been alone and how long he had been neglecting himself.

Bella jumped when Edward started speaking from behind her. "Stop cleaning up. I said I don't need you. I don't need you to feed me, I don't need you to clean up after me, I don't need you to come in and save me. I. Don't. Need. You." Edward's broad shoulders were slumped from the effort of saying those words, from feeling the emotions he worked so hard to ignore.

Bella moved around the counter to stand in front of Edward. She laid a gentle hand on his arm. "What if I need you?"