Kids are calm for the most part and awaiting the brutal cold that's coming to KY in the near future (tonight). Figured I would get this uploaded. I hope you all are enjoying this and I would love for you to actually let me know if you are or are not! Seriously, tell me if you don't like it so that way I can look at how I'm writing and grow from it. All mistakes are mine and only mine. I apologize.

We know who owns it and we know it is not me. Thanks again for reading!

CHAPTER 4:

FEBRUARY 19, 2009

Bella was frustrated.

Really frustrated.

To beat all, it had felt like forever since she had heard from Edward. Every minute that passed she worried and worried more about his health. Frequently she had daydreamed about inflicting pain on him for making her wait for so long to hear from him again. Edward had promised her a letter but she was beginning to feel like a very impatient child waiting on it. More like a very impatient child at Christmas, to be exact.

No more cliche' words had been spoken but they were oh so true in her eyes.

To her, Edward's damn letter could not get there quick enough. She had known that she would miss him but Bella had never realized that it would tear her apart from the inside out like it had been the past few days.

That day Bella was having a hard time getting through her classes. Everything that was said or written would not take root in her riotous brain. It was like long, drawn out, water torture to sit through. Not that she knew what that actually felt like, but hell she knew it had to be horrible. The icing on the cake of her shitty day had to be when Mike Newton asked her out for the 20th time that semester and it had only just begun.

Bella would maybe even say that Mike was a decent enough guy to a degree, he just was NOT her type.

Not that she even knew what her type was anymore but seriously, he was not it.

Mike was your typical, All American Frat boy and that in and of itself just annoyed the shit out of her. Then add to it that his blonde hair stuck up like an ocean wave to the front with crazy ass spikes all over, something like that she had not seen done in years. Bella reflected on the fact that there was no chance in hell that you could even run your fingers through a stiff mess of shit like that even if the feeling to do so had come over her.

She was in such a mood when she arrived home that Bella almost did not check the mail. The mailbox that she had been religiously standing beside since Edward had told her he would write. The mailman had even learned her name and regretted the day that he had spoken to Bella the first time.

She figured since she was currently only receiving bills and junk, she did not want to look at another bill on top of everything else that was going on in her life. Today was just like any other day inside her mailbox except for one letter that was addressed to "Isabella M. Swan" in the neatest, most beautiful handwriting that she had ever seen. Bella had always said that her best friend had been born as an adult of the 19th Century. He had always been equipped with incredible handwriting that put her chicken scratch to shame and of course she was supposedly the girl in their friendship that should have the beautiful handwriting.

Bella tripped over herself after she began running into her small apartment at full speed and even that didn't entirely piss her off this time around or begin to throw her off her step one bit.

That first step into the apartment was always reaching up to grab her out of nowhere. Damn step or in reality little blip of a raised spot on the floor, she always thought, it knew just how clumsy she could be. She knew the letter was from Edward before she could even take a look at the APO address on the front. Bella fell into her favorite old worn out, velour chair and ripped it open.

13Feb2009

1800 Hours

Bella,

Don't be angry with me for taking so long to get this to you. We are finally settled in as much as can be expected over here. It is definitely very different than home. The most striking difference is there are very few trees growing and an ungodly amount of sand that gets into everything. And I mean absolutely everything! I have to say that I miss the God awful weather of MA and WA because it sure as hell beats this place.

I've met a couple of guys that I've been hanging out with. (Okay, does that make me sound like I need the soap dropped, or what?) I never realized how important it would be to have a couple of people that you were close to and could completely trust with your life over here. I've always had you to talk to, but there's no way in hell that I ever want you to have to ever do anything like this. I actually think that you'd really like them.

McCarty and Whitlock are both medics like I am but they look more like Mutt and Jeff. Whitlock or Jasper, which is his first name, is a philosophy and history major back home. I honestly can't believe we've never met him on campus anywhere or especially out at a bar or something. He apparently hangs out at some of the dives we venture into. And McCarty, Emmett is a P.E. teacher at one of the elementary schools in Framingham. It really fits him since he's an overgrown kid himself. He's really a big guy and you'd think the kids in his class would be terrified of him at first sight. I sure as hell was.

Sorry this is such a short letter, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm alive and well for now. I know how you'd worry yourself to death over where I am and if I'm safe (Don't make faces, you know that is how you are and what you were getting ready to do). I haven't had to do much as of now, so I've picked up running again. I miss my running partner terribly and need her back soon. If you could let her know to keep her ass in shape while I'm away that would be highly appreciated by me. Tell your parents that I said "hi" and that your dad could be really useful over here if he wanted to join up. Just kidding, your mom would so kill me. Miss you way too much to be healthy.

Edward

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day! I wish we could have had our Anti-Love drunk fest again this year. It's one of my fondest memories of college with my consistently single best friend.

FEBRUARY 20, 2009

Bella felt so much better after receiving Edward's letter the day before. She figured he did really know how much she had been worrying about him, unbeknownst to her of course. He always knew what she was feeling before she did and that tended to annoy the shit out of her but at this point she could have cared less about the know it all brat Edward could be. That elephant weight that had unceremoniously been placed and sitting on her chest for the past few weeks had finally been removed. Bella had never had a panic attack, but she was damn sure if she had to have waited anymore time for that letter to arrive that she would have had one.

A big one.

Before Bella could write Edward back, Alice and Rose had called to see if she wanted to join them for a drink. The three of them had hit it off pretty well the first time they had gone to grab a coffee. She really didn't know what to think about them at first since she had never had a lot of close girlfriends.

Actually, she had none at all.

Rose was quite calm compared to Alice and was able to even them out rather well. She had a filthy mouth and quick tongue but only to those she deemed deserving which most of the time she was spot on with. Both women were beautiful in their own rights and Bella, for the life of her, couldn't figure out why they weren't dating anyone.

Rose had claimed she could not find a man to put up with her love and knowledge of cars because it generally surpassed their own and embarrassed them , plus her true love affair was with clothes and she could not help the time she spent blossoming that relationship, she had explained. Bella believed she was a true force of nature and it would take someone really special to be her match. Alice kept cryptically saying the right man was coming for her soon. Bella didn't know really what in the hell she was talking about and chalked it up to Alice being somewhat crazy or to be nice about it being one of her idiosyncrasies, so she just rolled with it. The three girls went out for a couple of hours to the pub about a block from Bella's apartment. When she arrived back home she went straight to bed and fell into an actual peaceful sleep.

Now it was exactly 6 am and Bella was currently settled into the small kitchen table with her stout coffee, notebook and pen getting ready to write Edward back.

FEBRUARY 28

Edward would be the first to admit that it had been difficult there during the past 3 weeks of having his boots on ground. He had taken a ton of pictures to send home to his family and Bella. He had hoped they would enjoy seeing them but he wasn't sure if they needed the reminder of where he was or not. Edward's concern was that it would cause them to worry more, especially Bella, more than she already did, honestly.

He tried to get as many shots of the scenery as he could. He had thought that his mom would like all of the Biblical locations that he had seen while flying over head. They had a group of pilots with them, so they were able to take the heli's over to the other surrounding base camps instead of taking so many chances driving through some of the towns. Edward excitedly agreed that it was much safer to travel this way, at least most of the time.

He had just gotten back to his makeshift room after chow when he heard someone yelling "Cull" from outside. Edward did not know how to feel about the new nickname but he knew most of these people could not pronounce his last name correctly, Cull-en. Not hard.

After grumbling and cussing under his breath he ambled out of the hooch and realized it was one of the post guys and there was a letter for him. Edward understood that most normal people sent emails and made phone calls to their loved ones but where they were located the internet connection and access were never guaranteed and nor was the phone that you could call home on. So for he and Bella, it was just going to be a little bit easier to use snail mail and a hand written letter or so Edward had thought.

He knew whose messy assed script covered the envelope he was holding. He quickly told the soldier "Thank You" and headed off for the solace and privacy that only his bunk could provide.

February 20

No fracking clue

Eddie Boy,

It was really good hearing from you. Finally, I might add. I'm glad you're somewhat safe and settled in. You'd be proud of me because I've actually made a couple of new girlfriends in your absence! I think you would fall in LOVE with them, too, Playboy! Just kidding with you. I know you would like hanging out with them, though. They'll be a great addition to our bar nights.

Alice has enough energy to keep the earth spinning on it's axis. She's a pixie of a girl (she's really short, like 5 feet even kind of short). Then there's Rose, the epitome of every man's fantasy. She's a voluptuous blonde headed bombshell that is about 5 foot 10. She's as beautiful as they come on the outside but she has the foulest mouth I've ever seen or heard. She could put you to shame with the way and the amount of times she uses the word Fuck. Rose actually has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and the shop she runs is listed under her brother's name. Apparently she didn't think it would get the business it deserved if some self serving, egotistical man let it out that it was a woman who was working there the majority of the time. She's a piece of work, definitely.

So, Happy Anti-Love Day to you, too. It wasn't the same and I only had a couple of drinks with the girls before I headed home for the night. It was really lonely without having you there. The girls didn't understand my aversion to anything Valentine's Day related and I really, I mean really, got tired of having to explain.

I really miss you, though. I thought I should tell you that. Oh and Rose wanted me to tell you to be safe and I quote, "to keep your head and ass down" and "to always keep a finger on the trigger". Apparently her dad is an ex-Marine or something like that. I miss and love you. Write back soon or I'll hunt you down myself to hurt you. Dad wanted me to tell you that they are very proud of you and the man you've become. (I figured those were mom's words because they're just a tad too over the top for the old man)

Bella