A/N: Hey, sorry for the delay in updating. I've been really busy with all my friends coming home from college and work. I just haven't really been in the mood for writing. Sorry guys. Let's go meet Kate! Anyway, here is Chapter 3, it is called: Old Friendships.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I also don't own any pop culture references or celebrities are not mine either.

Rating: M for language, themes, and sexual content.

BPOV

"Kate?"

I was pretty sure I was about to faint. Did she still live next door?

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

She chuckled. "What do you mean? I live next door. I was putting some letters in the mailbox and saw you out here. I actually should be the one asking what you are doing here. You haven't been in Phoenix since we were in middle school," she said, crossing her arms over her chest, studying my face.

"Yeah, well, things happened…" I mumbled trailing off, looking over at my house. Phil was watching us from the kitchen window, but immediately disappeared when he noticed that I was looking at him. I almost chuckled; almost.

"I heard what happened, of course. I tried to call you, but you never answered. A few weeks after it happened, I found out that you moved in with your dad, and I had no idea how to reach you. I missed you Bella."

I frowned. I remembered screening her calls after my mother's death. I really didn't want to talk to anyone; it was nothing personal to her. She had been my best friend before I left. I wished I would've called her or at least sent her a letter with a new phone number so she could reach me. When I got to Forks, I pretty much ignored my past, trying to put it all behind me so I wouldn't remember my mother.

"I'm sorry, Kate. It wasn't very nice of me to do that. I mean, I honestly didn't mean to hurt you. I was just so messed up. I didn't want anything that reminded me of my mom in my life at the time. Forgive me?"

She grinned and settled down on the pavement next to me. "Bells, of course I forgive you. You went through so much, and I guess it was your way to deal with it. Hell, you're back now."

"Well, I am back for now. I'm selling the house then going back to Forks," I said softly. Kate bumped her shoulder against mine.

"I figured as much. It's too good to be true that you would be back for good," she said with a soft laugh. "So you like it up in Washington?"

I nodded. "It was hard to adjust to, it's so rainy there, but after a while, yeah, I loved it. I don't think I could ever live back here after living in gloom for so long." My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and checked it. Edward had sent me a text message asking me if everything was alright. I slipped the device back in my pocket and looked back at Kate.

"So, was that your boyfriend?"

I blushed and nodded. "Yeah, Edward. He really wanted to come with me. Be my support system and such," I answered, playing with a pebble by my feet.

She pouted. "Why didn't you let him come?"

I shrugged and kicked the pebble down the driveway. "I wanted to do this on my own, I guess. Plus, he hates seeing me in pain. I think the trip would've been just as much torture for him as it is for me."

"I see. Is he cute?" she asked, bumping me with her shoulder again. I think she was trying to bring the conversation away from my mom and the reason I was here. I was thankful for that, but I didn't say anything.

"Yeah, he's cute." I flipped open my phone and showed her the background: a picture of him and I from the last day of school.

She grinned. "Wow, he's gorgeous. Maybe I should move to Spoons."

I let out a loud laugh. "The town is called Forks, not Spoons!" Kate joined in on my laughter and wrapped her arm around my shoulder to keep herself from falling over.

After a few more minutes of mindless conversation, Phil came out from the house and wondered if I was ready to go back to the hotel. He said he had some other client coming to his office in an hour and he wanted time to prepare. I told him I was ready and rose up from the pavement and dusted off my butt, Kate following shortly after.

I gave her my number and was about to walk to Phil's car before I turned around abruptly and smiled at her. "Do you want to come back to the hotel with me? I could use some company, and I missed you. I feel like we need to catch up more."

She broke out into her beautiful grin and nodded. "Sure, let me get my bag. Do you want to ride with me?"

I nodded and watched as she trotted over to her house then turned to Phil who was standing by the driver side door. He smiled at me.

"I'm assuming you won't need my services the rest of the day?" he asked, nodding his head toward Kate who was now coming back out of her house with a large pink tote bag.

"Yeah, thank you though."

He opened his door and nodded. "Alright, I'll call you later tonight to discuss the plans for tomorrow. Have a good rest of the day, Bella."

"Bye Phil!" I waved as he got in his car, the engine rumbling before he sped down the street and disappeared from sight. Kate was beside me now, smiling.

"He's pretty hot for an older guy," she muttered, raising her eyebrows up and down in a suggestive way.

I shrugged. "Is he?" I honestly hadn't really looked at the man closely. I had my mind on so many other things, Phil being good looking would've certainly not registered. I guess I would have to look at him next time I saw him to see if Kate was right.

She nodded. "Yeah he is. I'd hire him as my lawyer any day!" she said through giggles, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward a sleek little silver car parked at the curb in front of her house. She pulled some keys from her purse and hit a button on a small key chain remote, unlocking the doors. I climbed into the passenger seat, smiling when she slipped into the driver seat.

"What hotel are you staying at?"

"The Wyndham Phoenix."

She grinned and pulled away from the door heading away from the neighborhoods toward downtown Phoenix. "I've never been to that hotel, but I heard it was really nice. Great pool or something. What do you think of it?" she asked, putting her blinker on to change lanes. She drove like a city woman. I probably wouldn't even be able to drive here. I was way too used to small town driving.

"It is nice. They have the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in. I haven't checked out the pool yet, though."

"How long are you staying here? I might have to bring over my suit and we can check out the pool together," Kate suggested, changing lanes once again, this time cutting off an elderly man.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but your pool idea sounds good."

About fifteen minutes later, we were on the elevator heading up to my room. I almost yelped when my phone vibrated again. Kate chuckled and put her hand on my shoulder, steadying me as I pulled the little cell phone out of my pocket to check the cause of the vibrations. Edward had sent me a text.

"Maybe you should call him," Kate suggested as the elevator stopped at my floor. "He must be worried."

I nodded. She was right. Edward was probably getting more and more worried with every minute. I mean, I had basically hung up on him when I saw Kate. He probably thought I was about to be robbed or murdered. I slid my key card down the card reader on the door and pushed it open. Kate grinned and practically danced inside, gazing around the room with wonder.

"I'll be in the bathroom on the phone if you need me," I said softly, pulling my phone out of my pocket and scampering into the marble bathroom.

The phone rang exactly two times before Edward answered.

"Are you okay, Bella?"

"I'm okay. I mean, I wasn't when I called you earlier, but then I saw an old friend, and she distracted me from the pain I was feeling. I'm fine, really. I'm actually glad she was there to take my mind off of everything."

"Old friend?"

I sunk down to the granite floor and leaned my back against the sink. "Yeah, my neighbor and best friend Kate."

He was silent momentarily. "I've never heard of a Kate," he muttered sounding almost irritated.

"Probably because I hadn't talked to her in years. It's not like I was hiding her from you."

He chuckled. "I can only imagine you hiding a girl from me."

"Yep, only in your dreams."

We both chuckled before becoming silent again. I ran my hands over the granite flooring, and Edward did whatever the hell he was doing.

"So, do you want to talk about why you called me earlier? I don't think you should ignore it."

I sighed. I was glad Kate came when she did. The shock of seeing her brought me away from my memories. For that, I was grateful, but I knew Edward would be interested.

"Bella? You still there?" I must have been quiet for longer than I thought. I knew talking about this with him would only make me cry again. Now I wanted to curse Kate for interrupting. I now have to cry twice in one day.

"Yeah, sorry, Edward."

"So, what happened?"

I shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "I went through the house, and it brought back a lot of memories. The house looked pretty much the same way I left it except with about ten pounds of dust. All was okay until I got to the kitchen." I told him about the cracks in the ceiling and my memory of the police officers. He listened intently the entire time.

"I just had to get out of there, so I ran out of the house and cried in the driveway since I had no where else to go that wouldn't require a car. That was when I called you. I'm sorry for hanging up on you like that, by the way."

Edward and I talked for a little while longer before I told him that Kate was waiting for me. He mentioned that I should call Alice and Jasper before telling me he loved me and ending the call.

I slipped the phone back into my pocket before emerging from the bathroom. Kate was in front of me within seconds.

"Jesus, I needed to pee for the longest time!" she squealed, pushing past me and shutting herself in the bathroom. I giggled and settled down on my bed.

The rest of the day, Kate and I lounged in my hotel room just watching movies on HBO and talking about all our old friends and enemies. I told her more about my friends in Forks, and she insisted on coming to visit me sometime. It was a rather nice time.

EPOV

"I wonder what this Kate girl looks like," Jasper said. He, Alice, and I were sitting in the living room watching some cooking competition show. I had told them both that Bella had run into one of her old friends, and they were instantly curious.

"What do you want me to do? Ask Bella to take a picture of the girl with her camera phone?"

Jasper chuckled. "Yeah that would be nice. You know I'm a visual person."

Alice rolled her eyes. She was the only one actually paying attention to the show. I think she picked up cooking tips from it or something. She had been quiet most of the day, actually.

"What's wrong, Alice?"

She looked at me and shrugged. Oh yeah, something was definitely bugging her. "Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Because you've been uncharacteristically quiet since I told you about my phone call with Bella."

Jasper now had his eyes on her, and I think it made her nervous. She was biting her lip and looking anywhere but in our directions.

"You're jealous of Kate, aren't you?" I asked. I knew my sister all too well.

She looked up at me with widened eyes and didn't say anything for a moment. "I just didn't really think that Bella had any good girl best friends before. I thought I was first. I mean, she never even acted like she had taken part in girl time or anything."

I looked at Jasper to find that he was trying to fight off laughter. I was doing the same, but I wasn't so successful. I burst out into laughter; it was almost violent, leaving my sides aching, my throat hurting.

"What the fuck is so funny, Edward?" Alice yelled, standing up and throwing her arms in the air in anger. She looked like an ape.

I bit my lip to keep away my smiles. "You sound like you're talking about her virginity."

Jasper snorted which caused Alice to glare at him. He smirked at her. "Alice, I think you're a little late for her virginity," he said, earning a slap from his pixie of a girlfriend before she stomped upstairs, slamming her door.

I shook my head. "She's utterly ridiculous."

"Ridiculous, yes, but that's why I love her."

I was pretty sure I gaped at Jasper for about thirty minutes. He loved her? Since when?

"Don't look at me like that, Edward," he said, clapping his hand onto my shoulder and grinning like an idiot.

I blinked a few times before meeting his eyes. "Have you told her?"

He shook his head, a frown taking over his features.

"You should tell her, man."

"I know. I plan on it. I just haven't gotten the right opportunity, you know?"

I nodded. "Well, hopefully the right opportunity comes soon," I paused. "You should probably go talk to her before she decides to get even with us."

He chuckled. "You're right. See you man." With that, he took off jogging towards the stairs.

A few hours later, I searched the house for my mother. I was tired of being alone, and Alice and Jasper hadn't returned from her room yet. I shuddered at the thought of what they might be doing in there. Emmett was at Rose's again and Dad was working. My mother was the only other candidate to relieve me from my loneliness.

When I didn't find her in the house, I took a peek in the back yard. There she was, hat on and on her knees in her little garden. I grinned and made my way over to the plants she tediously took care of like they were her children.

"What's up, Mom?"

My mother turned her head and smiled warmly at me. "Edward! Oh, not much really. Just weeding my garden," she paused. "You want to help?"

I nodded and knelt down next to her. She told me what to pull and what not to pull and even the correct way to pull it so that all the roots would be removed. She yelped when I almost yanked out one of her many columbine plants.

After a few minutes of a pleasant silence, I halted my movements and looked at her. "What's your favorite flower or plant or whatever?"

She looked at me for a few moments, surprised by my question before smiling. "Lavender," she replied finally.

I nodded. "Why?"

She bit her lip and glanced up in thought. "Well, when I was younger, I used to go over to my Great-Grandmother Sophie's house every Thursday after school before she died. She loved lavender, and she had a whole garden of different varieties of lavender. She grew nothing else. For her funeral when I was sixteen, they used lavender on her coffin." She glanced at me and smiled slightly. "I guess it just reminds me of her. Plus, it smells wonderful." She gestured to the purple flowered plant in front of her before picking one of its flowers and handing it to me. "Smell it," she said.

I lifted the flower to my nose and inhaled. The smell was exquisite, hands down the best floral scent in the world. "Wow, that does smell good," I said, handing the flower back to my mother who took her own chance to smell it.

"There is a lavender farm called Purple Haze about an hour and a half away in Sequim. They make all these wonderful soaps and body wash with it. They even have lavender flavored ice cream. Your father and I go there every summer."

"Lavender ice cream?" I asked sounding revolted.

My mother laughed. "Oh, don't judge it till you try it!"

I didn't say anything for a moment, pulling out a dandelion weed out of the garden and tossing it into the bag behind us so it wouldn't root into the yard. I looked at her again. She was staring at the lavender again.

"Would you take me to Purple Haze?"

She looked up at me and grinned. "Of course," she replied before the back door swung open and Emmett stepped outside.

"Mom, I gotta talk to you," he announced sounding extremely nervous. Something wasn't right, I could tell.

I glanced back over at my mother who was staring at Emmett with worry. I helped her up from the ground and we both walked inside, curious about Emmett's behavior. Nothing could've prepared us for what he was about to say.

A/N: OMG i left another cliffy. I'm sorry guys but seriously, the cliffy was needed for Emmett's news. Anyway, did you like this chapter? I know it wasn't as long as the last one but cry my a river, okay? Anyway, check out all the links for this story in my profile. Oh, and by the way, the lavender farm, Purple Haze, actually exists. I've been there.

Please Review! They willl make me write the next chapter quicker and then you can find out what's going on with Emmett.