Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight

Yes I know, its been a really long time and I'd be surprised if anyone still remembered me, but if you do, and you're reading this sorry about my extremely long absence, I had issuses. I'll try my best to update more frequently.

Enjoy

Chapter 2

Stranded

I sit there against the wall for hours, waiting to wake up. It's a dream, it has to be of course. This isn't my life, this isn't anything resembling what I thought my future would be, this is a dream, some horrible nightmare. The fact that I don't sleep is just a minor detail that doesn't matter.

Once I realize that I am not in fact in some horrible alternate universe I have the urge to cry. Of everything becoming a vampire has robbed me of I have never missed that particular vice, but right now I want it. I want to scream my eyes out, I want to punch in a wall while hot tears roll down my cheeks. I want to feel the shame that comes in being able to illustrate your emotions so vividly.

There are so many things that I thought could happen, so many things that I had nightmares about, so many things that could damage this perfect little life I had, but he had never been one of them, in my darkest fears it was always me who ruined what we had.

He was perfect.

I would forgive him. I had known it the moment he left, kicking him out was just a way to make him suffer, as I was now, because the truth is, there's nothing without him, absolutely nothing. The only thing more important then being with him, was being with my children. I would gladly kill for both.

Daybreak startles me out of my coma, I stand, and my arms and legs cry out, stiff from staying in the same position for hours. I hobble over to the kitchen, and immediately busy myself with dirty bottles, thank God for the twins. The hot water, scalds my numb fingers, my mind instantly quickens, the fog lifting, leaving me with a horrible hollow feeling that makes me even more desperate. I want to wake up. I want something to feel real.

And then the door bell rings.

It can't be him. He's smarter then that. I am the sleeping bear, that you don't poke. The rabbit that runs at the first sign of trouble. We both know that all to well. He wouldn't rush contact, at least not yet.

I brace myself as I turn the knob. I'm not ready yet, for anything. The very sight of any of the Cullen family member will send my barely there grasp of the world back to me collapsed on the floor. But when the door opens the sight is so much worse then on of my in laws. Lyla's smug smile makes me want to slap it off her face,"You kicked him out," she says regarding me, "good girl. You're much stronger then I would have predicted."

I frown, before fastening a fake smile onto my lips, "Well I'm glad you're happy, because that was really my goal," hoping my sarcasm bites as much as I intended it to.

She seems unfazed and I make a move to shut the door but she puts her hand up, motioning for me to stop, pleading quickly, "Please, just hear me out for a few more minutes, and then I promise, I'll leave."

I bite my lip, and then because there's some desperate part of me that needs to hear the explanation, needs to know exactly how much I'm going to have forgive,I move aside. Letting her inside the house.

It's was the worst mistake of my life.

Life gets boring when they leave, I start to itch all over, like a reoccurring panic attack. After the lunch rush ends I mechanically change out of my work "uniform", pulling on a pair of dark jeans, and a purple turtle neck and tying my hair in pony tail that rests at the nape of my neck.

I walk quickly into the sunshine, and after a moment I let out a disgruntled shriek as I realize what I've done, looking down at my glittering hand, horrified, I turn and run back under the awning. My car is parked four blocks away and I can't make a run for it without being spotted. I let out a low groan, I can't believe I was this stupid, I've been doing this for nearly twenty five years and I made such a rookie mistake.

Quickly, I pull out my cell phone and hit the speed dial and pace as both Belinda and Danny's cell phones ring straight to voice mail, and then I remember that they couldn't help me anyway, their off in Seattle picking up some of the furniture that's been in storage since before they even knew me, they say I'll love it. I'm slightly terrified, picturing a mix of brightly colored 80's couches and wooden chairs dating back to the eighteenth century. I quickly think about the kids, they would be at the house, ready to questioned about their first day at their new high school, they won't think anything of my absence for at least another half an hour.

I start to hyperventilate when I realize who the only person I can call now is. Trying not to think about what I'm doing I punch in the numbers that will send me straight to my own personal hell. Hardly breathing the entire time.

"Isabella," he questions, the confusion by my call is evident, we communicate maybe twice a month about custody, we switch weeks, Cullen house for seven days and then mine, it's been done like this since they were infants, we split holidays in half, from Thanksgiving to Veterans Day. It works for us. There were frequent phone call updates from the children, to the parent they weren't staying with. But other then on special occasions like open houses and ceremonies, Edward and I hardly communicated. I preferred it that way. There was less of a chance that something would slip out.

"Edward," I breathed, his voice still had the ability to make me tremble, taking a second to compose myself I finished, "I'm really sorry about this, but I wouldn't be calling if it weren't an emergency," I sighed, trying to keep my frustration to myself.

Instantly his mind turns to the worst case scenario and interrupting me he questions,"Why, what's wrong, is there something wrong with Lilly and Masen?" He worries too much, always has.

"No", I say, quickly reassuring him , before stumbling through my words once again,"no it's nothing like that, I just, I just .. . God this is so embarrassing . . . I'm kind of stranded. . . .outside of the restaurant, and Bee and Danny are in Seattle and I just . . . I didn't know who else to call."

There was a moment of hesitation, and for a second I thought he was going to say no, that I could figure out my own way home, that he was done saving me, it's what I would have done if I were him, but because he is and always will be a better person then I am, the hesitation vanished quickly and he stated, resigned, "I'll be there as soon as I can."

And he was.

Twenty minutes and countless calculations of how unpleasant this was going to be later he pulled up in the all new black Audi A4 that had been purchased just a few days after we had decided to move. I quietly picked up my purse as Edward leaned over in the car and opened the passenger side door. I quickly jumped in and closed the door.

Edward tilted his head towards me, his eyes meeting mine, I held his gaze for a minute before looking away, quietly I whisper, "Thank you . . . for coming to pick me up." Without saying a word he quietly pulled away from the curb. I leaned into the seat, my body bristling at the tension in the air, Edward was obviously feeling it as well, he was gripping the steering wheel so hard I though it was going to break in half.

After a few seconds later I ask, "So . . ." I say it a little louder then necessary, desperate to break the silence, "hows the family."

As if on cue the phone rang, and Edward's hand dashed for its resting place in the cup holder, his eyes shot to my own before he quickly answered, "What?" There was a brief pause and then a, "You have got to be kidding me. On the second floor?" His hand smacked the dashboard, "Well who told Rosalie she could do that? She knows Esme's going to hunt her down, right?" I was starting to get interested when Edward bellowed, "Emmett stop rambling about your damn XBox 360, if you don't save my CDs I will physically handicap you." He then proceeded to hang up the phone and throw it out the open window. Cursing quickly under his breath.

"Why Edward," I swooned, holding my chest in mock amazement, "do you kiss our children with that mouth?" I smiled lightly at my own joke, relaxing for a moment and turning my head towards him, "So, from what I heard of the phone conversation I'm guessing it was really good news. Care to share with the rest of the class?" I added sarcastically.

He shot me a dirty look, before hissing, "Apparently Rosalie decided to try and play renovator this afternoon and knocked down a wall so that her bedroom would be bigger, and being Rosalie she completely ignored the enormous pipe in her way, turns out the pipe was filled with water, and now it's spraying everywhere, and its begun the leak down to the lower floors. Sorry about this," he said once again glancing my direction. "but we're going to have stop my house, there's no was I'm trusting Emmett with my collection."

"Oh no," I said calmly, "speed away, Alice has the majority of Masen and Lily's baby pictures, and if those get ruined I think I'm going to have shove Rosalie through a wall."

Pushing down on the gas pedal Edward U turned away from the direction of my car and sped off toward our respective homes.

For a few minutes the car was quiet except for the quiet music whispering from the speakers, and then Edward quietly stated, "Broken."

"What," I questioned, his words shaking me from my zoned out state.

"You asked me how my family was doing, it's broken, Alice hardly speaks to me, Emmett avoids me, I see my kids every other week besides in school, where their not even aloud to call me Dad, and I haven't touched my wife in well . . . lets see its been at least a decade, so yeah I'd pretty much say my family's doing about as good as the wall that was standing in the way of Rosalie and her bigger bedroom," he slammed his hand on the dashboard again, and this time I winced, knowing I provoked the action.

He breathed heavy before quieting and stating heavily, "I apologize, things over the last few months have been . . . trying."

Without looking at him I opened my mouth to speak, trying to control my voice, trying not to let on how difficult not grabbing his hand was for me right now, "I'm sorry too... for my part in all of it. I wish things could be different ...I wish that I could forget ... you have no idea how much."

Edward looked as if her was about to say something, but before he could, his driveway became visible, and any barriers that I had let him break down were immediately repaired as I murmured, "Oh my god," and burst out laughing.

Piled high in the Cullen drive way were garbage bags on top of garbage bags of what I could only assume were Alice's designer shoes and purses, Emmett's game systems and wide screen television were placed lovingly near the front of the house, Rosalie had already managed to pull her brand new silver BMW out of the garage and was going to work on all of the other luxury automobiles, running over the manicured garden when necessary, I saw tire marks all over the rose bushes, Esme was not going to be pleased. Edwards CDs seemed to have been pitched out of a second story window, and were laying scattered all over the lawn.

That was all it took to send him speeding from the car. I quickly exited it as well and walked up to the house, hands in my pockets, Jasper was on his cell phone screaming at someone who I could only assume was a plumber, his voice rang in my ear as he bellowed, "I don't care if your wife's parents are in town, my house is spraying water like a fucking fountainand I need someone to make it stop!" There was a pause, "No, tomorrow is NOT okay, did you not hear me, we are taking on water like the Titanic, the house won't be here tomorrow." He finally seemed to get what he wanted and started nodding at the phone.

He had just hung up when Rosalie emerged from the house, carrying what looked to be a very old and no doubt priceless painting, Alice was trailing behind, carrying two overstuffed garbage bags, she was roaring at Rose, "Where are we supposed to stay tonight Rose? There aren't any hotels for fifty miles! It's going to be weeks before this is fixed, and I refuse to spend that time in some run down motel!"

I think it was seeing calm little Alice truly upset that led me to say the words I did next, or maybe I wasn't thinking at all, but regardless I shouted towards the squabbling pair, "You can all stay just with me and the kids."

Oh, reconciliation perhaps? Anyway, hoped you liked it.

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Carly