-CHAPTER 4-

The most peaceful thing to wake up to in the morning has to be the sounds of the birds chirping. I roll over onto my back and stretch. This room is unusually bright this morning. After taking my eyes off the ceiling, I realize that I'm not in Edward's room. Wait...

Suddenly I feel an arm wrap around my waist and a body stir against me. I look over and see Edward's eyes peering up at me with a big smile on his face.

"Mmm, morning baby."

I scream and jump off the bed, falling to the floor.

"Holy shit! Bella, are you okay?" He asks, sitting up, leaning over the side of the bed.

"Edward…oh my god. You're here?!"

Edward smiles his beautiful smile and chuckles lightly.

"Yeah baby, of course I'm here. Did you hit your head on the way down or something?"

His eyes trail down my body and in that moment I realize that I'm naked. I'm pretty sure my face is as red as a tomato. I reach up and grab the white sheet that's now half-hanging off the bed. Note to self: Always take the sheet with you on the way down.

"I...I just can't believe it. You're here. You're…perfect…" I trail off. How is this possible? If this is a dream, I never wanna wake up.

"Uh, thank you?" He says with a confused smile on his face.

"B...But how are you here? You're dead...you died! What happened?" I barely whisper and he hears me.

"Baby, are you drunk still?" He gives me a lopsided grin. "Seriously, did you hit your head? Come back to bed. I didn't die, it must've been a bad dream."

I stand up and get into bed and he wraps his arms around me. I turn my head to look at him. All I can do is touch his face. And kiss him. Again. And again.

"Whoa, Bells, if this is how you greet me after a bad dream, I sure hope you have more!" He laughs.

"So...what happened?" I ask. I'm so confused. If this isn't a dream, then what is it?

"Uhh, what do you mean 'what happened', Bella? I never went anywhere…should I call my dad? You may be coming down with something..."

"No, no. I'm alright, I just…we were broken up, and-"

"Okay, baby, that must have been a dream, 'cause we've never broken up." He laughs and nuzzles into my neck.

I sigh, wrap the sheet around me, and get out of bed. I walk up to the glass windows and look outside. Holy fuck, I live in a condo?!

"Bella?" Edward questions. He too gets out of bed, slips on his boxers and comes up behind me, kissing my exposed shoulders. "What's wrong, baby? Talk to me."

"I just…I guess I just had a bad dream. I mean, you and I broke up and then I went away, and then you died…."

"Well, I didn't die, sweetheart. I'm right here. Although obviously, we almost broke up once." He recalls, almost painfully.

"When?" I ask.

"Well, when you almost left for school, remember? When I found you at the airport?" He says.

"Oh, right…do you ever think about that day?"

"Yeah, all the time. Only for the fact that it was the best day of my life." He says, rubbing my back.

"How so?"

"Well, after I had read the ridiculous letter you wrote me, I decided to go after you. I thought that I was actually going to lose you and I hated you leaving without at least facing me. You said it was the best way to end our relationship. You know, you felt like it wouldn't work between us and that it was killing you, but there was no way that I could've changed your mind? When I found you, you were just giving in your ticket. At first you wouldn't budge. I didn't care how we did it, I just wanted to be with you. I had a plan B, but I never needed it. You decided to stay and think it over…thank you for that, by the way, and that night I took you home and you called me all frantic because you got accepted to school here. Which I thought was weird because as far as I knew, you never applied…but either way, you decided to stay here."

I didn't apply to the University of Washington though. I continue to look out the window. What happened? I ask myself, which I must've whispered out loud.

"Bella…we went to school together, we graduated and now we live here together, silly. Is that what you're asking about? Or…as for the state of our room…" He looks around with a smile, "Well, I think we got a little carried away last night."

He grins and I blush. I make my way back to the bed and sit down.

I think back to what he just said. "I had a plan B, but I never needed it." Does that mean…oh. The ring. Does he still have it?

"I think I'm going to go have a shower, are you alright?" Edward pulls me out of my thoughts for a second.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I guess my dream just felt real." I sit back down. I'm not alright, but I can't explain it to you.

He gets up and goes into the bathroom for a minute to start the shower.

I start to think about what had happened yesterday. I woke up, spoke to Esme, got ready with Alice, went to the funeral…

And then it hits me. Laurent. The weird guy in the white tux. Suddenly his words echo through my head.

"You'll see, Bella. Tomorrow morning when you wake up, things will be different."

I feel my stomach drop. No, that's not possible, I…is it?

Edward comes out to grab his towel, and he's wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. I stare him up and down. He's really here. Everything I ever regretted in my life is standing right in front of me; I'm actually getting that second chance to make my life right. Here he was, perfect Edward, and he's all mine. Every inch of him was perfect; his brown hair and enticing green eyes. And his body? His body. He catches me staring and notices that I'm basically undressing him and fucking him with my eyes, and he pauses for a second. He looks at me skeptically as I stand up, the sheet falling to the floor. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him deeply. He's startled by this, but he kisses me back. "I love you," I mumble against his lips.

"Mmm...love you more," He mumbles back. I start to pull him towards the bed but he fights it. I pull harder and we both lose our footing and fall backwards onto the bed. I gain control and roll over to sit on top of him. He's surprised by this, but I can tell he's liking it. Very much.

I refuse to stop kissing him. "Bella," he tries to object but I won't let him. "B-bella…the water's running."

"I don't care." I say to him, desperate. I need him. More than he'll ever know. "I just…I need you."

He sighs. "I can't deny a request like that."

He then giggles, which I find extremely adorable, almost in a dorky way. "You're totally paying the water bill this month."

"Deal." I say, and then I make up for lost time with the love of my life. Twice. And once in the shower.

That water bill is going to be expensive this month.

I come out of the hallway and take a moment to look around. I live here? I can tell that Esme had a hand in helping with the designs, this place is absolutely gorgeous! It's so…me. The living room was quite big, complete with a 3 seated couch along the wall that I'm leaning against, and a 2 seater that has it's back to the kitchen, with the kitchen off to the side, connected to a small dining room. It's a small place, but it's perfect for us. But it's not the layout that's beautiful, it's the furniture. Thank you Esme. The one thing that pains me about this is the fact that I have no recollection of this; of us moving, us going to school, anything. 5 years of our life together have completely vanished. I suppose it's a small price to pay, because the fact that I have Edward back outweighs all of the time erased.

"Well good morning!" Emmett says with a smirk, eating a cheese omelette.

"Well, hello, Bella!" Rosalie smiles like a cheshire cat. "We heard you last night; didn't know you had it in you. Well, we know what you had inyou, but the noise…just, wow!" What she says naturally causes me to blush the colour of her fiery red lips.

"Well maybe if you guys would stay at your own apartment, eating your own food, you wouldn't hear a thing." Edward fires right back.

Emmett's smirk falls hard. "Ouch, man. Very...ouch." He dramatically puts his hand on his heart.

"Don't worry guys. We're leaving soon, we were just way too drunk to drive last night. Thank god Jasper didn't have anything to drink and was able to drive Alice home. She was done." Rose said. "But I don't think I've had that much to drink in a long time."

"Yeah, and you know how that goes," Emmett cuts in, "Safety first! Friends don't let friends drive drunk."

Edward rolls his eyes and pours himself some orange juice. Emmett and Rose start to gather their things.

As far as I know, it's Saturday, so what would I possibly do today? Well, if there's anyone I really need to talk to, it's Jake.

I open my cell phone and dial Jake's number.

"You better have a good reason to be calling me at this ungodly hour, Swan." He says. Good to know he still sounds the same.

"You know, Jake, normal people are usually up by 10," I say right back. Edward comes out of the kitchen and knits his eyebrows, as if to ask me who it is. I mouth Jake to him and he nods and starts to chuckle.

"Well, after the night I had last night, it feels like 6 am. What can I do for my bestest friend in the universe this morning?" He asks me, very unenthusiastically. Rose waves me down to say goodbye, as does Emmett with his mouth full of food, and I smile and wave at them both. "See you guys later."

I continue to talk to Jake as Rose and Emmett leave. "Weeeeell..." I started, "I wanted to know if you wanted to meet me for lunch…or brunch. You know, whatever."

He sighs. "Okay, I'm going to go ahead and assume The Waffle House. Let me guess, Bella needs waffles? I can be there in 20 minutes."

"Alright, I'll see you then." I hang up.

"Hello beautiful," Edward comes up behind me and snakes his arms around my waist. "Feeling more refreshed after your shower?" I blush, again. He takes notice of the dress I'm wearing and suddenly takes interest.

"Is there any chance that I get to see what's under this dress of yours?" My girly bits do a dance. At this point, I'm completely insatiable when it comes to all things Edward.

"Nope, no chance. Although who knows, it could turn out to be nothing."

He instantly growls low and turns me around and backs me up against the back of the couch. "Bella, you know you can't say things like that to me. Now I'm going to have to check…" I swat his hand away.

"I have to go meet Jacob for brunch now, you be good." I say with a teasing smile. I lightly brush my hands against the bulge in his pants and he closes his eyes to revel in the feeling.

He leans down to nuzzle my neck and I push him away. "Down boy, there's time for that later. Love you."

And just like that, I left him.

The drive wasn't long but I'm definitely early. Could have probably had another quickie with Edward. I shake the thought out of my head and walk across the street where there's a children's playground with a bench. I make sure to text Jake and tell him where I am. Ahead, I see a mother pushing her little boy in the swing. She looks so happy, so content. The little boy is just glowing with happiness. That's what I love about children; the littlest thing brings them such joy, whether it'd be a silly face, or a simple ride in the car. The mother stops swinging her son and lifts him out of the swing and puts him on the ground. He reaches down and picks a dandelion out of the grass and whispers something in his mother's ear as she bends down, to which she smiles and nods. Before I know it, the little boy runs in my direction and stops in front of me where I'm sitting.

"Hi!" The little boy says.

"Hello," I say with a smile, "How are you?"

His mother walks up and says hello, while her son shies away and turns his face away from me.

"Sorry to disturb you, my son just wanted to come over to say hello."

"Oh, that's fine. Not a problem at all. Hey buddy!" I say I reach out my hand to him.

He smiles widely and takes my hand and shakes it. He is just the sweetest thing ever.

"I'm Bella," I say, "What's your name?"

"Sean." He says oh-so-bashfully.

"Go on, Sean, tell her what you wanted to tell her…" His mother coaxes him.

"Yo-you're really pretty, Bella!" He says, almost embarrassed.

I almost want to cry, he's so cute. He hands me the dandelion he picked and then he kisses my hand.

"Thank you, handsome! You're going to make some girl very happy one day!"

His mother tells him that it's time to go meet his dad. He blows a kiss to me, and I to him.

"Thanks for making his day, Bella. It was nice meeting you. I'm Angela, by the way. Perhaps I'll see you around?"

"Definitely, and it was my pleasure, Angela." I shake her hand and she walks away with her adorable son. She looks familiar to me but I can't place where I've seen her before.

I sit back down on the bench and I smile to myself. That's what I want one day; a family. A little boy who looks just like Edward. I want a family with Edward. Not now, obviously, but one day. Am I weird for thinking about Edward and I having children already?

"Hello, Bella." A voice says. I look up and see Laurent standing in front of me. That white tux, man. "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Sure…" I say, "Would you mind telling me what's going on?" I look around to make sure that no one's here, remembering what he had told me about no one being able to see him. With what's happened so far, I'm not going to take him for a liar now.

"And you thought I was some crazy guy." He says, chuckling.

"How did you do this?" I ask.

"I told you, Bella, that when you'd wake up this morning, things would be different."

"But I don't know what's going on...I missed out on 5 years of my life. I have no memories with Edward, or-"

"Would you rather go back to the way it used to be? I can't implant memories into your head too." Laurent says.

"Well, no, of course not. But I'm just saying that I'm so…lost…"

"In time, you'll learn the things you've missed out on, Bella. Just thank me and go live your life. I'm not expecting anything from you." He says with a smile so full of grace.

I look at him. "There's no catch? Like, when I become complacent with it all, are you gonna pull the rug out from underneath me completely and bring me back to my old life? Because I don't think I could handle losing him twice."

"Stop your worrying. This is your second chance, Bella. Embrace it. Not many people get this opportunity. You wished on it, did you not?"

"Well, yeah-"

"Then that's it. Consider it a wish that came true." He rests his hand on top of mine, smiling.

"So, who are you? Are you, like…an angel or something?" I ask inquizitively.

He laughs out loud, as I remember that I asked him that yesterday. "Like I said, if that's what you want to call me, then feel free. It's an empowering title to have, anyway. I'm somewhat of a supreme being, but I'm from a different realm. I'm not God nor do I claim to be, but I'm part of a place where we watch over good people. I use powers that I possess to enforce good things; it's really a hard thing to explain, especially to a human being. There are also those who try and use their power to destroy the lives of innocent, good-hearted people, for which we banish them and strip them of their power."

I suddenly feel like I'm a character in the bible. I decide to not ask anymore questions, as I feel I've asked enough already. I accept that there's things that I'm just not allowed to know.

"Like I said, Bella. You deserve this. Now please, go be happy." He gets up to leave, and I stop him.

"Wait," I call out to him, "Am I ever going to see you again?"

He turns around. "I don't think so, Bella. My job is done. I was sent to help you and I have done that. But I'll be watching over you. That's the best I can do."

"But-" I started.

"No, Bella. Just go." He smiles at me and waves. And with that, he disappears.

I think I need to see a shrink.

I hear Jake calling my name behind me and I turn around to see him crossing the street.

"Hey Bells, you ready?" He lets me lead the way and we go to eat. As soon was we walk through the door, the smell of waffles and syrup fill my nostrils and my stomach starts making all kinds of demands. I notice him staring off into space. Either that, or he's really into the menu.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Oh, nothing. Just hung over. Me hungry." He starts pounding on his chest like a gorilla.

"How was your night last night?" My attempt at making small talk to see how my life with Jacob is in this new life of mine.

"It was good, the opening went really well, actually. I mean, you would know, you were there." He says.

"I was?" Jake looks at me oddly. "I mean, yeah, I was…" Trying to save myself here…"but, you know, not for the whole night."

"Yeah, I know, you guys all left pretty early. Where did you guys all go after?"

"My place." I say. The only true fact that I know for sure.

"Bella, you look like you have a lot on your mind. What's up?" Such a good friend.

"Nothing, really. Edward and I were talking this morning about how I almost left Forks to go to school."

His face drops. "Oh? I hated those days."

"Jake, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, anything…unless it's 'wanna be a godfather?' or else I'll have to kindly decline-"

"I'm serious."

"Okay, shoot." He grows slightly concerned.

"Strictly hypothetical," I lie, "but have you ever lost something that you loved so much?"

He frowns. "What do you mean?"

I continue, "I mean, have you ever lost something that really meant a lot to you, or you've just done something stupid and then you somehow wished that you had a second chance to make things right? Kind of like a do-over?"

He thinks for a second, then looks at me. "Well, yeah, of course. I've lost a lot, Bella. I've just kept quiet about it. But I've never gotten a second chance to change things. I don't think anyone ever really does. That's just one of the things that comes with living your life, I guess; having one moment, and the decision you make changes the course of your life. It's really just a big gamble. Why, what's changed for you?"

"Well, nothing really. I was just thinking, you know, like 'what could have been'. Like, if I would've gotten onto that plane, my life would have been so different-"

"You know," he said, "if you would have gotten onto that plane, I would have caught the next one. I booked the ticket and everything. I was ready to follow you. I booked the ticket because I wanted to keep you in my life. I didn't have as much to lose by leaving as Edward had."

Now I'm confused. "Wait, what?"

"Bella, I…no, just forget it."

"Jake, you know you can tell me anything." I was scared to find out where this was going but my curiosity was going too far.

"Bella…I've been in love with you since I met you; ever since your father introduced me to you. You were new and you wanted friends and I introduced you to the Cullen family. But before I could make a move on you, you were already head over heels for Edward. I knew I wouldn't stand a chance with you after that. So, would I go back and change things? No, because that means that today you'd be with me and you wouldn't be as happy as you are." He says, looking away from me. "So, I'm thinking pancakes, they look pretty good…"

"Jacob…" I have no idea what to say to him, and what could I even say? I've broken my best friend's heart all these years, and I never even knew it. Laurent was right, I would learn all of the things I've missed out on, but also, things I never knew about my past.

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And that's it for now!

Yet again, feedback is nice, but I'm not one to beg for it!

xo