I have a banner for this story now. Mehek18 made it for me, it's linked on my page with all the other fun stuff that goes along with this story.

Beta'd by Midnight Cougar!

Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

Isabella Swan

"What do you have planned for today?" mom asked as we sat around my new dining room table. She was playing on her cell phone while I ate my bagel.

"Nothing really." I knew I should be using my last free day to start unpacking, but I was too tired. I stayed up most of the night chatting with my parents. "Why?"

"I want to do something fun…" she said, looking up from her phone. "It's our last full day together." She sighed, sadly.

"What do you have in mind?" I knew that leaving was a sensitive subject for both my mom and dad so I tried to steer clear from anything that would lead to tears.

"Maybe we could go to the zoo?" she suggested, glancing at Masen. "Masen would love it."

"It's too hot," dad complained from his spot on the couch. "We need to stay inside as long as possible."

"How about we go to a youth museum?"

"We could go swimming?" The apartment complex had a nice sized pool and I wouldn't mind spending some time in the sun.

"How about we go to an aquarium?"

"What's wrong with spending some time at the pool?"

"Nothing," she said with a shrug "I just figured that we could spend an hour or two at the aquarium. That's longer than we could spend at the pool."

"True." She was right. The most I could stay at the pool was fifteen minutes. I couldn't keep Masen out in the sun too long.

"And Masen would love it." She added after a second thought.

"He doesn't care," dad disagreed.

"If it's colorful and moves, he will love it. Isn't that right, Masen?" Masen squealed and kicked his feet wildly into the air. "See." My mom grinned, looking back down at her phone. "Where's your laptop?"

"I…don't know…" I frowned. "Didn't I leave it at home?"

"Then it's probably in one of your boxes." She sighed. "I need to print out the directions."

"There's a library on First and Main." Since I left my laptop at home, I had to go to the library to search for apartments.

"Be ready by the time I get back." She grabbed her purse and my keys off the counter.

"I can go if you'd like."

"No it's fine." She said glancing down at her phone. "It's not far from here."

"Don't get lost.

"I'm fine." She called over her shoulder, shutting the door.

"Why doesn't she just use her phone to map out the directions?" I asked my dad as I sat on the floor next to Masen.

"Don't ask me." He chuckled, "How long do you think it'll take her to get to the library and back?"

"Twenty minutes, if she doesn't get lost." I looked at the clock. It was a little after ten. She would probably be able to get in and get a computer without a problem, unless she got lost.

"I'm going to take a shower."

"Try not to flood the bathroom," I warned. I had yet to get a shower rod or a shower curtain so when you showered, if you weren't careful, the water would flood out onto the floor.

"I'll try," dad laughed heading into the bathroom. "Where are the towels?"

"Uh…" I looked up from my phone. I had sent a text to my mom telling her where my library card was and what my password was. She would need it to get onto a computer. "Towels are under the sink?" I wasn't sure. My mom was the one who had unpacked them and I didn't know where she put them.

"You don't sound sure."

"Mom unpacked them…so who knows?" He nodded and headed into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. "Come on, Baby." I scooped Masen into my arms "Let's get you dressed." Masen grinned at me around his teething ring as I carried him into his room.

I sighed as I took in all the boxes. Masen's room was the first to be unpacked when I started unpacking.

Laying Masen in his bouncer, I started digging through the boxes to find him some clothes.

The first box I had chosen held what seemed like brand new clothes. I knew that I had my mom to thank for that. Though I hated having money spent on me, I didn't mind them spending money on Masen. Of course, it couldn't be anything over the top.

Occasional clothes and toys were fine with me. When they found that out my mom was overjoyed and literally bought him more toys then I knew what to do with.

I grabbed the first thing my hands touched. A simple brown and white onesie with a small owl printed on the front. Closer to the bottom of the box I found a small pair of brown converse. I grinned as I slid them onto his feet.

I peppered his little chubby cheeks with kisses as I made my way into my room. I sat Masen on the floor with his teething ring before digging through my own boxes to find something suitable to wear.

"We need to pick out a shower curtain on the way home," dad called out as I slipped on a pair of jeans.

"You flooded the bathroom, didn't you?" I asked as I pulled on a white and gray shirt.

"A little," he admitted.

"I don't have a mop." I said, pulling open my bedroom door.

"I used my towel." He sighed. "Make a list of all you need. We'll stop and pick it up on the way home."

"I only need a mop, shower rod, shower curtain, and a broom." I placed Masen in front of the couch before grabbing my notebook and jotting my small list down.

"And hooks," dad said, glancing down at my list.

"What do we need hooks for?" I questioned, writing it down anyway.

"Pictures," I nodded and slipped the list into my back pocket.

"For now," I agreed. "Can you keep an eye on Masen while I pack his diaper bag?"

"Of course," Dad scooped Masen into his arms, causing Masen to squeal wildly.

It didn't take me long to pack it up, I was a pro at it now. I packed two bibs, six diapers, two bottles, baby formula, two bottles of water, two jars of baby food, a baby spoon, wipes, and an extra set of clothes.

I finished packing the diaper bag just as my mom returned. She didn't bother coming up, she just sent a text to my phone.

"Mom's here."

"Are you ready? Do you have everything?" he asked taking the diaper bag from me.

"Uh..." I mentally went through my check list before nodding "Yeah, we're ready." I lifted Masen into my arms and headed down to my car. "I guess it's safe to say that you're driving." I commented when my mom made no move to get out of the driver's seat.

"I doubt my heart could take anymore of your driving," mom said as I buckled Masen into his carrier.

"I'm an awesome driver and you know it." I grinned, climbing into the backseat next to Masen.

"You're an Okay driver." She corrected, pulling out onto extension. "But I've had more experience thus making me the better driver."

"Whatever you say," I acquiesced.

The aquarium was located in Arizona Mills Mall. It wasn't a long drive, twenty minutes at the most. Masen was free so I only had to pay for myself.

My dad wanted to pay for me but I had won that argument.

"Wait near those doors." The bored cashier said, handing me my receipt. "When they open you can go on in," I nodded and pushed Masen's stroller toward the automatic doors.

"Aw, he's so precious."

"Thank you." I smiled at an older woman. She had two younger children with her, probably her grandchildren.

"How old is he?"

"Five months."

"Has he started crawling yet?" I shook my head "You're going to miss these days." Another woman, maybe the older woman's daughter, laughed. "Once they start crawling they hate being still…"

"But on the plus side, you get a work out."

"Oh yes," the younger woman agreed. "That's one of the many perks of being a mother. The constant work out."

"I agree." The doors opened revealing another large room. A flat screen was the only thing in the room. As soon as the doors closed behind us, a movie started.

"You need to take him out so that he can see," mom reminded me.

"I will." I didn't need to right this second because we were still waiting for the video to end.

"Please no flash photography…Enjoy your visit."

"Take him out," mom directed. I sighed. I pulled Masen out of his stroller and showed him the fish in the first tank.

His blue eyes were wide with fascination as he looked at the fish.

"I told you he'd like it."

"He likes everything that's colorful and moves," dad chuckled, repeating my mom's earlier words.

"Bella don't get to close," mom nagged. I rolled my eyes. "You're making me nervous."

"She won't drop him into the fish tank, Renee," dad laughed, pushing Masen's stroller toward the next fish tank.

"You never know."

"Better?" I asked taking a few steps back.

"Yes, much, thank you."

We made our way into a larger room, two touch tanks sat on the left wall. I didn't let Masen touch anything because I was sure he'd squeeze the life out of the poor animals and well…my mom would have a heart attack.

"Don't even think about it." She steered me away from the touch tank.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it." The next room was just as large as the last. A large fish tank sat in the center of the room, inside were sting rays.

You could stand on the deck, which was right above the tank, or you could slide underneath the deck and sit in front of one of the many portholes. I chose to sit underneath it.

"Bella, be careful," mom groaned.

"Look at the sting ray, Mas," I said, ignoring my mom. "Aren't they pretty?" He stared at the tank, his hands pressed firmly against the glass.

The next room was darker and held smaller tanks. Masen was entranced by these tanks. The colorful fish moving around definitely caught his attention.

The final room had two parts. The first part was the tunnel that led you through the water and gave you a closer and larger view of the fish. The second part was a room with normal fish tanks.

We stood in the underwater tunnel for maybe twenty minutes. They had announced that it was shark feeding time and my dad wanted to see that. My mom was on edge the whole time, which wasn't surprising. She was always like that, especially when I was younger.

We spent five minutes gazing at the normal fish tanks and then another three minutes browsing the gift shop. Overall, it took us an hour and a half to get through the aquarium.

"That was fun."

"It was." Masen seemed to love watching everything swim around, I would definitely bring him back here when he was older, so that he could enjoy it more.

"Where should we go next?" my dad asked, looking down at his watch.

"How about we grab some lunch?"

"Sure." I slid into the back and buckled Masen into his seat, He wasn't happy about that. He started crying immediately.

"What's the matter, Mas?" dad asked as I dug through his diaper bag for his pacifier.

"He just doesn't want to be in his seat." I slid his pacifier into his mouth and he calmed down.

"Is that better?" I asked wiping away his tears; he just stared at me in response.

"What do you have a taste for?" mom asked as she pulled back onto the highway.

"What about Taco's?" dad suggested.

"You want tacos again?" mom asked.

"Sure."

"Taco's are fine," I agreed.

"Did we pass one on the way over here?"

"I know there's one on Country Club."

"That's near the library, right?"

"Its a few streets away," I said with a nod. "Taco Bell will be right on the corner of Main and Country Club."

"Oh, Okay."

"Do you remember how to get back?"

"Um…Yes."

"Do you want me to drive?"

"No, I'm fine."

The ride to Country Club was short, twenty minutes, but loud. Masen decided that he didn't want his pacifier about five minutes into the trip so he spit it out and started squealing as he played with his converse covered feet.

"Thanks for the entertainment, Mas," mom laughed as she slid out of the car. Masen just continued blowing bubbles, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

I pulled him out of his carrier and headed into Taco Bell after my parents.

"What do you want, Bells?" dad asked as he stood in line with my mom. "Our treat, pick anything."

"Uh…" I quickly looked over the menu. "Can I have a chicken burrito and a small sprite?"

"Sure."

"Let's find some place to sit," We chose a booth near the window. Though my mom originally wanted to sit outside, I reminded her that Dad didn't like the heat, she reluctantly chose a booth inside.

"What about you, Mas?" I asked, pulling a jar of baby food from his diaper bag. "Are you hungry, baby?" He grabbed at the spoon and whined when I pulled it away. "Open," I said. He opened his mouth when the spoon hit his lips. "Good boy," I cheered, feeding him another spoonful.

"Bella," mom gasped as some of the peas dribbled down his chin and onto his bib. "Aim for his mouth."

"I am," I laughed, feeding him another bite. "More?" I questioned holding the spoon inches from his lips. He took some in his mouth but after a few seconds spit it out.

"Masen," mom shook her head while I wiped the peas off my face. "No spitting." I fed him a little more and smiled when it didn't end up on my face.

"Good boy," I praised and he grinned, green drool dripping onto his bib. "Ew," I wiped it up before it hit his onesie.

"Geez, Bells," dad laughed as he took in Masen.

"What?" I asked innocently, trying to stifle my laugh.

"Did the poor boy get anything to eat? Or did you just decorate his face?"

"There is still plenty of food left," I said, feeding Masen another bite of the peas.

"Bella, you need to hold onto him." My mom chastised me. "He's going to fall over."

"I've got him," He was sitting with his back to the window. If he fell, he would most likely fall onto my chest, but I had confidence that he'd be fine. Over the last few weeks, Masen had mastered sitting up. From what I had researched, he would start crawling at any time.

That frightened and excited me.

"Babies can fall over even if they've gotten good at sitting up." I moved him closer to me. He couldn't really sit on my lap because of the booth. "You didn't come out of your clumsy phase until you were thirteen."

I was a very clumsy kid, which was probably another reason why my mom was so overly protective. I could barely walk in a straight line without tripping on something, or nothing.

My older brother, Emmett, used to tease me about my many falls, but in my opinion he was lucky. He had inherited Mom's grace while I inherited Dad's lack of hand eye coordination.

"Hopefully, Masen isn't as clumsy as I was."

"He better not be," dad chuckled, agreeing. "I want to see him playing in the little leagues."

"Little Leagues are dangerous."

"Emmett was in little leagues," dad reminded her. "And he turned out just fine."

"He was always getting hurt," Mom argued.

"Ballet is dangerous," I laughed. "And you signed me up for it."

"Hon, it was suppose help improve your balance."

"I broke my ankle three times, broke my wrist twice, an-"

"Between you and Emmett, you're lucky that I'm still alive." I rolled my eyes with a laugh.

By the time we had finished lunch, it was one. My mom suggested that we drop her and Masen off at home, I agreed because he was fast asleep and waking him up to take him into Home Depot wouldn't be a good idea.

"I'll be right back." My dad nodded and remained in the car while my mother, Masen, and I headed upstairs.

"I could've done that," mom said as I carefully unbuckled Masen and placed him into his crib.

"I know," I said as I handed her the baby monitor. "I'll probably be back in a half hour."

"You don't have to rush."

"I'll try not to." I was reluctant to leave him with my mom. It was probably because I had been with him all day, every day for the last few weeks.

"Go."

"I'm going."

I drove this time.

My father warned me not to argue about him paying, but I did anyway. I knew that he wanted to leave knowing that I'd be okay for a while but I wanted to do it on my own.

I wouldn't have moved to Arizona if I wanted to depend on my parents my whole life.

"Let me do this, Bells."

"Dad…"

"Your mother and I helped Emmett out when he moved away." He reminded me as we entered home depot.

"Fine b…"

"No buts." I pouted, causing him to chuckle. "We want to do this."

"No buts," I reluctantly agreed, grabbing a cart. "Do you have that list?" I nodded and pulled it out of my back pocket. "Let me see it." I handed it to him. "Shower rod and a curtain…"

"I can get the curtain at Wal-Mart."

"We'll see what they have here." My dad chuckled, as if he knew that I was trying to get him out of spending out of a ton of money on me. "And hooks…"

"Hi," A tiny blonde-haired woman grinned at my dad and I. "Can I help you find anything today?"

"Yes, were looking for a shower curtain and a shower rod."

"Right this way, sir." My dad followed behind the blonde-haired woman, Ashley as her orange apron read, while I pushed the cart. I sat back bored while Ashley, who was very enthusiastic about her work, explained which shower rod would be best.

Much to my relief, he grabbed a ten dollar one. Then grabbed a twelve dollar curtain, it was see through but it was good for now. I would eventually get a better one, and cheaper one, at Wal-Mart.

"Can I help you with anything else?"

"Hooks," dad replied.

"Hooks to hang up pictures?"

"Yes."

"Follow me." She headed out of the aisle and to the left. My dad followed her while I slowly pushed our cart toward after them.

"Hello, neighbor" I whirled around and came face to face with a grinning Edward.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I work here." Glancing down I noted the orange apron, which was what all the other home depot employees wore.

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"Aren't you supposed to be off? I thought you said five to one…"

"I need all the overtime I can get."

"Oh…" That made sense.

"Do you need any help?"

"No?" I looked around, trying to spot my father but I had no luck. "On second thought…Do you know where the hooks are? For pictures?"

"Of course, follow me." I followed alongside Edward ."So how do you like Mesa?"

"It's great so far."

"Where did you move from?"

"Washington."

"Seattle?"

"Actually, I lived in Forks."

"Forks?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Funny name, I know."

"I don't think I've ever heard of it."

"It's a small town, you probably wouldn't have." Forks was a small farming town with less than a thousand inhabitants. It seemed like the perfect place to my mother and father, but to my brother and me, it sucked.

There was nothing to do.

There was a small dinner, the elementary school, the middle school, the high school, a sporting goods store, a police station, and a lodge. The rest was either farmland or forest.

"Ah, I see."

"What?" I asked, curiously.

"You're a small town girl looking to get wild in the big state of Arizona." I snorted, causing his grin to widen.

"No," I laughed "A fresh start."

"Escaping from a bad past?" Never had I met someone so bold, well besides my friends back home, but I had never met a stranger who would flat out ask something like that.

"Not really…" Sure, my decision to come out here was fueled by my constant fights with my mom and I guess James, but I wouldn't consider it that bad. He nodded. "What about you? Have you always lived in the valley of the sun?"

"Born and raised," he said with a nod.

"Do you like it here?"

"I'm still here," he said, grinning. "It's a pretty cool place."

"Hey, Edward," another blonde-haired woman, taller than Ashley, smiled as she stopped in front of Edward and I. "I forgot my keys at home…Can I borrow yours?"

"Sure, I'll meet you in the locker room."

"Okay." The blonde-haired woman smiled at me before heading back in the direction that she had come from.

"Girlfriend?" I guessed.

"Kate? No…" He shook his with a laugh. "She's my cousin."

"Oh…" Why did I care? It's not as if I was interested in Edward. I mean, he was gorgeous but I wasn't ready.

"Here we are," Edward said. I spotted my dad and Ashley halfway down the Aisle. They probably didn't even realize that I was gone.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"I'll see you around," I called over my shoulder as made my way toward my dad and Ashley.

"Definitely," Edward relied. Without looking, I could tell that he was grinning.

"If you're hanging larger pictures, then these are the best but for smaller pictures these are the best…"

"Which do we need, Bells?"

"The smaller ones will work." He nodded and threw a few packages in the cart.

"Thank you, Ashley."

"It's not a problem."

"Is that all we need?" I asked, anxious to get home to Masen.

"I think so," dad said as he looked down at the list that we had made earlier. "Yeah, let's go."

My dad paid for everything, just as he said he would. I noticed that we had a lot more in the cart then we probably needed, but I didn't but in or argue, just as I had promised.

We made it home in less than two minutes. Home Depot was literally a block from my apartment complex, or just right down the street was my place. It was a very convenient location and one of the many reasons that I had chosen it, the main reason being the Wal-Mart I would be working at was right across the street from Home Depot.

Masen was still sleeping when we made it home. My dad immediately headed into the bathroom to put up the shower curtain while I stayed in the front room with my mom, who was unpacking boxes.

"Did you get everything you needed?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You don't need to thank us, Hon. We just want to make sure you'll have everything to get started…"

"Thanks to you guys, I do." She smiled.

"I never thought this day would come…"

"Mom…" I didn't want her to cry.

"I can't help it," she sniffled.

"I'm just a phone call away," I reminded her.

"Or a flight away…"

"As long as you call to warn me," I told her. She laughed and pulled me into her arms.

"I hope you know the same goes for you," she said squeezing me. I nodded. She had reminded me many times since she's arrived here. "You don't even have to call. Just show up and we'll let you stay."

"I know, Mom."

"I love you, Bells."

"I love you too, Mom." Moments like these were rare. Back home we'd probably still be arguing with each other, but here we were, in Arizona, hugging and being civil toward each other. It was wonderful.

This made me feel like I had made the right decision. Things with my mother would probably improve with distance, instead of getting worse like I had originally thought.

"You know what we forgot…" My dad paused when he saw my mom and me still hugging. "I interrupted something didn't I?"

"No, don't worry about, we were just having a moment," mom laughed, pulling away.

See, Renee isn't so bad...or is she? lol everyone knows that when your away from someone for a while that you'll miss them...even if they are annyoing.

Review!