A/N: Hey everyone, MarieCarro here again! So I want to begin by saying that both cloe and I were just amazed and totally blown away by the response we got on the first chapter. I mean it was amazing and I want to thank all of you for your kind response and feedback!

I also want to give a little shout out here to out beta, Belynda Smith who jumped onto this bandwagon just two days ago! She's awesome and deserves all the credit for the amazing job she does of making this story readable :-)

So what do you all say about seeing what out two teenagers will do with the news they got in the last chapter, huh?

{Chapter 2}

Bella POV

I had almost succeeded in falling asleep when Edward arrived at my house past midnight. Shocked that he was there, I couldn't do anything but comply when he asked me to open my window.

With agility I hadn't seen before, he climbed the tree outside and through my window with ease. When he finally had his feet on the floor, I regained my voice.

"Edward, what are you doing here? It's the middle of the night," I said in a hushed whisper. My parents' room was right next to mine, and I didn't want to wake them up.

Edward looked at me with defeated eyes, and I felt my stomach drop. His expression could only mean one thing. He had to move.

My eyes welled up while my heart broke into a million pieces. How would I be able to live on without him? The answer was that I couldn't. I wouldn't.

"So there's no way then?" My tears spilled over and ran down my cheeks steadily. Edward placed his hands on my face and brushed my tears away with his thumbs.

"There's always a way. It's just going to be a bit more difficult than we first thought." I had closed my eyes while he spoke, but he wouldn't have any of that. He forced me to look at him by tilting my head backward. "Bella, I won't leave you. You're my life, and I can't live without you."

I smiled through my tears. He always had the ability to make me smile even though all I felt was sadness. I stood up on my toes and pressed my lips tenderly against his.

When we pulled apart, Edward asked if he could stay the night. I would never have denied him. Not even if I hadn't also felt the strong need to have him close to me while I slept. If these were possibly the last nights we had together, we wouldn't waste them being separated. That was simply absurd.

I slept in his arms that night, and I had never had a better night's sleep in my entire life.

I woke up when my alarm sounded through the room, and for a moment, I had no recollection of the night before, so the arms that were embracing me from behind made me stiffen before I remembered that it was Edward.

We hadn't shared a bed before because our parents wouldn't allow us to sleep over at the other's house, but it didn't feel awkward in any way, and it convinced me even further that Edward and I were meant to be together.

My bliss didn't last very long, though. I heard my mother talking downstairs and I knew that if I didn't come down in five minutes, she would knock on my door while stressing that I had to get to school.

I sighed deeply and turned around to wake Edward up.

I smiled at his relaxed expression. It was so different from the frown he'd worn when he came through my window. This was the Edward I wanted to see, not the troubled person who looked like he had the world on his shoulders.

I reluctantly woke him up and told him that he had to leave, but before he climbed through my window again, I stopped him when an idea entered my head.

My mother had a lot of influence in the business world; her contacts made sure of that, and I was sure that she would be able to help us, somehow. Maybe that was the solution we needed. If my mom helped, then maybe Edward wouldn't have to move after all.

I told Edward of my idea and he smiled widely, kissed me and encouraged me to give it a go. It wouldn't exactly hurt to have another person on our side.

Mom was on the phone, as usual, when I entered the kitchen. I decided to keep her in a good mood by being as quiet as possible and not disturb her conversation.

Five minutes later, she hung up and I saw my window.

"Hey, Mom, I was wondering, don't you have clients and contacts in Paris?"

Mom looked at me like I'd grown a second head, and I could understand why. I never asked her about her work; ever! She narrowed her eyes at me and her look was suspicious. She was no fool. She knew that I wanted something out of this.

"What is it that you want, Bella?"

My breath escaped me with a whoosh, and I told her everything, although I kept to myself that Edward had spent the night in my bed. She wouldn't have liked that very much.

I began to cry when I came to the part where Edward had "called me" and told me that his parents gave him no choice and that he had to move with them to Paris.

Mom listened to me patiently, and when I started to cry, she rose from her chair and enveloped me in one of her rare, but very warm and soft, hugs. She used to hug me all the time when I was younger, but it had all changed when I reached puberty. According to her, I was almost an adult and cuddling with my mother was not something an adult woman should need to do.

I disagreed strongly on that point. The physical love between a child and their parents was just as important as the mental.

"Oh, honey! I understand how difficult this must feel for you." She stroked my hair and allowed me to cry into her neck. "But, darling, you're only sixteen. You have your whole life ahead of you, and you'll have moved on in a month or two. There will be other Edwards."

I took a few seconds for me to register exactly what she said, but when I did, I pushed her away from me violently. How could she say that? Didn't she see how much I loved Edward; that he was my life?

I had completely lost my appetite, so I skipped breakfast and made my way to my car.

The parking lot was almost empty since it was still very early, but I spotted Edward's car at the end, and I quickly parked next to it. But I didn't exit my car. I couldn't just yet. I needed to control my raging emotions first before I faced my boyfriend that could read my face better than anyone.

My door was opened, and Edward stood outside looking worried. He had changed clothes, and no one would suspect that he'd spent the night with me.

With just one look at him, I burst into tears once again. He didn't say anything. He simply took me into his arms and led me away from the parking lot. It was quite obvious that we would skip first period.

{=TR=}

Edward POV

I held onto Bella while she cried heartbreakingly against my chest. I wanted to cry, too, but I would have time for that later. This was about my girl who was in pain, and she needed to let it out.

Her stress caused her breath to be high in her throat, and she stuttered badly when she explained what her mother had said to her.

"Sh-she actu-ually s-suggested that I w-would f-f-find a n-new y-you!" I tightened my embrace and kissed the top of her hair. "Sh-she ha-ad the n-nerve to say-y that I wo-ould get o-over you!"

I was furious with Renée. Not so much for what she said—my parents weren't much better—but for her part in my girl's pain. I couldn't accept anyone that harmed my Bella.

I didn't say anything. I just held my arms around her until she stopped crying and calmed her breathing down.

She eventually looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes, and I placed both of my hands on her cheeks to wipe away her remaining tears with my thumbs. Then I leaned forward and kissed her precious mouth. Like always, we lost ourselves in the kiss, simply going with our instincts.

When the kiss ended, we leaned our foreheads against each other. Our panting breaths mixed together between us, and we just held on tight.

I had my eyes closed and just reveled in the moment. Soon, we might not have this anymore.

"Run away with me."

I opened my eyes and frowned. I wasn't sure if I'd heard her correctly. I'd still been wrapped up in my kiss-induced haze. "What?" I asked.

"Run away with me, Edward. If we left it all behind, we could be together."

I wanted to say yes, with all of my heart, but I was afraid that it was only a spur of the moment question. I had to make sure that she meant it.

"Are you serious?"

Without hesitating, or taking her gaze off me, she answered. "I've never been more serious in my entire life."

I leaned forward and kissed her again. My answer was, of course, yes, and I made sure to pour all of the emotions I felt into the kiss since I couldn't explain them with words. I still had my arms tightly wound around her and I wasn't planning on letting her go anytime soon, but the bell that signaled the end of first period rang, and I knew that if we missed another class, our parents would be notified. I already had enough trouble with my dad without having him pissed at me for missing my classes.

I remained with one arm around her shoulders and my head leaning on top of hers as we went to our next lesson.

I had a hard time focusing on any of my classes for the rest of the day. My mind was constantly with Bella and on what she had planned for us. I wasn't sure how we'd pull it off, but I wasn't afraid to try. I would do anything if it meant that I could keep my Bella.

After school, we walked to our cars as usual and went home separately. We wouldn't be apart for long. I just needed to drop off my bag and make an appearance at home so that they knew I was still here.

When I got home, I went straight up to my room and dropped off my bag on the floor, before going back down. I immediately headed for the door and completely ignored the fact that my name was being called from the living room.

When I reached Bella's house, I saw that Charlie was in the middle of repairing one of the chairs they had in their garden. He looked up when he heard my engine and gave me a nod as a greeting.

I hadn't even opened my mouth yet when Charlie began talking, still with his back to me.

"You can just go straight inside. She's been waiting for you."

"Is she—?"

"Up in her room."

His tone was a bit clipped, but that was nothing new. That was just the way Chief Charlie Swan talked.

Bella's door was open and I found her sitting on her knees and digging after something in her closet.

I knocked on the doorframe to get her attention.

"No, Dad, I told you that I don't want to be disturbed," she said without coming out of the closet.

I chuckled. "I could always leave again if you want."

Bella immediately turned to me and flew into my arms.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and just held her; willing myself to relax. After a moment, I led her to her bed so that we could sit and talk.

"What were you doing in the closet?" I asked curiously.

"Do you remember my older brother, Emmett?" she asked, with a small glint in her eyes.

"I do, why?" I answered, a bit surprised. Bella had a nine years older brother named Emmett. Seven years ago, he packed a bag and left without ever coming back. I never fully understood why, only that his relationship with their parents was very strained.

Bella, being at the tender age of nine when he left, had taken it all very hard. She had been very close to her brother, and when he left, she thought she was part of the reason. For a long time, she thought that he hated her.

This was, however, something I'd only learned very recently, since Bella and I didn't begin hanging out until sophomore year.

I did meet Emmett once. He was sixteen and I was seven. I couldn't remember much of the encounter, only that I'd been scared shitless of the huge guy in front of me, even though he wore a friendly grin.

"A few days after he left, I went into his room and found a letter with my name on it. I took it back in here and I've had it in my closet ever since," Bella said.

"What did it say?" I asked.

"I don't know. I never opened it," she replied as she went back to her closet and retrieved an old, yellowed envelope, "not until today."

She walked back over to the bed and sat down next to me. She started opening it, but I stopped her.

"Wait!" I stood up from the bed and closed her door. She smiled at me and pulled out a ripped out notebook page. She frowned as she read it and I walked up to her to see what it said.

Belly-Bean,

You know that floorboard in my room that creaks?

You'll find everything you need underneath it.

- Emmy-Bear

Bella placed the note down on her bed and left the room. I re-read the note and couldn't stop myself from smiling at the nicknames they had for each other.

When Bella came back, she was holding an average sized parcel in her hand.

Once again, she began opening it with eager fingers. I placed my hand on top of hers. "Not here. We don't want your folks walking in and seeing it. I don't think Emmett would have wanted that either. He wouldn't have gone to such lengths to hide it otherwise. Let's go for a drive," I said as I stood up and grabbed her hand.

She thought about it for a minute and then stood up as well. "You're right. Let's go."

We walked outside, and to the car after telling Bella's parents that we were taking a drive down to the beach in my car. The best way to keep them from being suspicious was to act normal. I helped Bella into her seat and then ran around the car and got in myself. I started the engine and backed out of the driveway.

Eventually, we reached a secluded place by the shore of Lake Michigan. Both Bella and I lived in the suburbs of the North Shore in Chicago, so we weren't too far from home. I parked the car but didn't get out.

"Now you can open it," I said gently.

She sighed as she opened up her brother's package with shaky fingers and dumped the contents out in her lap.

There was an envelope with money, a very outdated-looking disposable cell phone, one letter, and a note with a number and an address. Bella looked at the phone in shock while I looked at the envelope with money. I counted it and almost swallowed my tongue. There was over three thousand dollars in there.

He had everything planned out to make sure Bella was safe, with things she needed.

Bella was holding the phone in one hand and the number in her other. She was staring at the phone with tears in her eyes.

"All this time, he was only a phone call away," she whispered out. Her voice was thick with suppressed tears.

"You should call him," I said.

"What if he doesn't answer?" she continued talking in a whisper.

"You won't know unless you try, love," I whispered back with my arms around her for comfort.

I sat quietly next to her while she tried the number.

When she hung up without saying anything, I looked at her quizzically.

"It went straight to voicemail. I'll call again later."

I nodded and Bella took up the letter from her lap. She began reading it, and since it was a personal letter to her, I stayed quiet and waited for her to finish.

I thought back on that one time that I met Emmett and smiled when I remembered that Bella had been with him.

Mom and I were grocery shopping when a small, giggling girl ran straight into Mom's legs. She'd blushed, apologized and backed away slowly when Emmett came forward and reprimanded her that she couldn't run away like that.

"Earth to Edward." Bella was snapping her fingers in front of my face as a way of bringing me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, feeling confused.

"I said that the address is in Mexico. We could go there. Meet up with Emmett. What were you thinking about that caused your head to be up in the clouds?" she asked, amusement coloring her voice.

"Nothing," I said and smiled at her amusement. I was so relieved to see her happy again.

A/N: What are your thoughts on Bella following in Emmett's footsteps? Let us know and Emmett will give you a huge bear hug! ;-)