All Twilight Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer!!! I dont own anything!! :) Enjoy!


Ten minutes after driving silently in Edward's car, we pulled up into a Parking lot behind an Apartment building that looked very Posh, even from the outside.

We got out and walked towards the entrance. We entered a smart-looking lobby, where a woman with platinum blonde hair sat behind a large mahogany desk and tapped away at a computer. She smiled a quick greeting at us as we walked past, and then we went into an elevator which then took us to the highest floor, the 21st story.

Why I am not surprised? I thought wryly as we walked out of the elevator, and Edward stopped at a door marked '156'.

"Here we are," He murmured in his velvet voice as he opened the door, and gave me a quick, cautious glance; and flicked on the lights.

I had to stifle a gasp as I stepped inside the apartment. The floors were hardwood and the walls were cream colored; and it was designed as a modern, open plan. In one of the corners was a stylish kitchen, all-black counters, fridge and stove. The kitchen leaned against the one side of the back wall, which was entirely made up out of glass.

This gave me a magnificent view of the entire city before us, practically at our feet.

On the other side of the room was a cozy area with all white sofas and cushions, and a beautiful chestnut brown fireplace. There was a coffee table in the middle with a few books for browsing through. One of the walls was taken up entirely by bookshelves that reached the ceilings. On one of the other walls was a massive plasma screen TV.

And in the center of the room, raised on a higher platform, looking sleek, shiny and simply beautiful, was a grand, black piano.

I realized that I had been staring at the apartment with an open mouth, and I tried to collect my thoughts as I glanced at Edward, who was staring at me with one raised eyebrow, and a hint of amusement at the corners of his lips.

"Uhmm… you… er… have a very beautiful place," I told him.

He smiled, and my heart skipped a beat. Control yourself Bella! I screamed at myself internally. Edward can hear ever single heartbeat. Don't make this any more awkward.

"Thank you," He said. "Well, my shift at the hospital isn't actually over, and Carlisle can only cover for me for so long before someone notices that I'm gone. So... uhm… I'll just show you the rest of the place, and then I'll be off I suppose."

"Ok… ok."

Edward then proceeded to show me the rest of the apartment, which was equally a stunning and modern as the first room had been. They also had the same flooring and walls.

The 'Guest' Bedroom had had a king- sized bed in it with a brown structure and white sheets and pillows. It looked very comfortable. That room as well had one wall which was glass and overlooked the city but this time there were cream colored curtains as well on the sides; as well as glass sliding doors that opened up to a balcony.

In the edge of the room there were another pair of sliding doors, this time translucent which opened up to a closet almost as big as the bedroom, full of Alice-y clothes and shoes. I had to bite my tongue from asking then about Alice, and how often she visited. I didn't want to pry.

Edward had seemed to sense my distress when I noticed a whole bunch of very skimpy looking dresses in the corner, and he grinned- leaving me breathless- as he led me out the room again.

We ended up again in the first room, as Edward prepared to leave again for the evening. He looked at me, "Help yourself to Alice's clothes-" I couldn't help as a slight grimace flashed across my face, he chuckled, "The fridge is stocked, and feel free to help yourself to anything else here."

"Ok… um… thank you," I hesitated, and then added, "Is it ok if I make a phone call?"

"Of course. No problem." He smiled hesitantly one last time at me, and then he was gone.

I sighed and then headed towards the sleek phone that hung on the wall next to the TV. I picked it up and dialed in the number I knew off by heart.

"Hello?" came Carole's sweet, small, quirky voice.

"Hey Carole, it's Bella. I'm so sorry to have dropped my kids off at you on such short notice. Are they ok?"

"Oh Hey Bella. That's fine; you know I love your kids. Yep, they're upstairs at the moment playing with Hazel. But…" She paused for a moment and then asked the question that I knew was coming, "Why? What happened? I mean, they're very welcome, but it's not like you to not even explain…?"

I sighed. I might as well give her the truth, Carole was like the sister I had never had. "I left Jack." I started. I could tell, even though she was quiet, that it didn't surprise her too much. I continued, "His… absence… and violence was too much. He doesn't know where the children are, and that's why I had to stay away from them." I quickly explained.

I heard Carol sigh, "I'm so sorry, Bella. Don't worry though your children are in good hands. Are you ok? Where are you?"

"Thanks Carol. I'm fine… I'm at a … old friend's place." I assured her.

After I hung up, I decided to freshen up a little bit.

I headed back to the guest room, and into the closet. It took 15 minutes of scratching around before I finally found something in Alice's clothes that fit and wasn't skimp and made my cheeks turn red. I had managed to find a pair of nice, grey sweats, but unfortunately was not able to find a comfy top for sleeping in that didn't end on my belly, so with a sigh I settled on a black tank top like that.

I took them into the ensuite bathroom- thankfully, no glass walls there- and got into a shower that could fit four people and was decorated in the same manner as the rest of the house.

Finally I emerged in the bathroom, my old clothes in hand, and placed them on the bed before heading back to the main room. I had spent the entire day in a bed, so I really wasn't up for going to sleep quite just yet.

Instead, I flopped down on the soft white couch, and flicked on the TV, going through the hundreds of channels. Eventually though, I felt my mind beginning to wander to other things. I wasn't in the mood for TV, I decided so flicked it back off.

I looked at my watch- that I had put back on at the hospital earlier- it was 8:15. I smiled a little as I thought that this time yesterday; I would not have dreamed that, 24 hours later, I would be sitting in Edward's apartment- however wary and confused by his actions.

I sat there for a while longer, thinking of my kids, of the day that had just past. I then began to worry about what I had avoided thinking about earlier. Had Jack really ended my bank account and insurances? I had no money then. I was broke.

And Medical treatments are NOT a cheap thing.

I decided that I would ring up the financial department of the hospital and see if, as it had said on the discharge papers earlier; my bills really had been paid by my insurance.

"Hello, Seattle Grace Financial Department, this is Tina Walkman speaking hear, how can I help you?" A shrill voice came from the other end of the line as I had dialed the number.

"Um, Hi, I'd like to find out about my medical bills, I'd like to check if they've been placed on my insurance, please."

"Ok, can I please have your name?"

I proceeded to give Tina my name details of my hospital stay and other small things.

"Alright, please hold for a second," Tina said, and I was silent as I listened to the tapping of her fingers against a Keyboard. A few moments later, her voice came again, "Actually, Miss Swan, your bills haven't been paid by the insurance," she said. I close my eyes. Of course. But then Tina continued, "They were paid off before, by a Mr. E. Cullen…?"

What?

WHAT?!

I realized then that Tina's voice had gone up a bit higher at the end, as if to ask if I knew him. I quickly said, "Oh, ok. Thank you." And then hung up.

I stared into the open space for a moment, disbelieving. I also felt slightly insulted, and I felt my cheeks heat up.

I sighed. Edward probably knew every embarrassing and hard problem of my life now.

And now he was treating me as charity as well.

I decided to forget about it for now, and, suddenly hungry, I went into the kitchen and opened the big fridge to find something simple to eat. I wondered why Edward even bothered having food in his fridge, it's not like he was waiting for me to come around.

But maybe he had other human friends now.

I sighed, and settled on making myself spaghetti and sausages.

When I was done, I cleaned up all the dishes, dried them and put them away.

It was 9:30 now, so I decided to just call it a night. I brushed my teeth- there had been a spare toothbrush in the bathroom- and then I climbed into the huge, soft bed. I eventually fell asleep, into troubling dreams that eventually flattened out and I slept in a peaceful slumber for the rest of the night.

*********

The next morning I woke up, confused at first of where I was. After finally registering everything that had happened yesterday, and that I was in Edward's apartment, I got out of the bed and then acknowledged the wonderful smell that was coming from the main room, presumably the kitchen.

After quickly washing my face, brushing my hair, and making the bed, I stepped out into the main room.

Edward was standing at the stove, the handle of a pan in his hands, and it looked like he was cooking an omelet. He was wearing navy blue trousers, a nicely- fitting white shirt with a dark blue jacket that was unzipped.

He must have heard my entrance because he turned, looked me up and down and chuckled, "Good morning."

At first I wondered what he found funny, and then with a jolt I realized that I hadn't showered yet, and that I was wearing a tightly fitting tank top which exposed most of my tummy.

The horror- and blush- on my face must have been quite a sight, because he chuckled even more.

"Umm… Good morning… excuse me…" I said as I backed away back to the bedroom where I quickly showered and changed into a pair of skinny jeans and a navy blue pullover.

I emerged from the bedroom once again, to find that Edward had the omelet on a plate and put it on the breakfast table, next to a glass of orange juice.

"Um… sorry about that," I said.

"It's okay…" Edward smiled. He was sitting n the chair opposite the omelet, and he cocked his head towards it, "I made you breakfast, if you would like some?"

"Uh… thank you," I said. I sauntered over and sat down. As I began to eat the omelets- which were really good, by the way- I noticed the time for the first time.

"Um… don't you have work today?" I asked Edward.

"No, I just worked a double shift, so now I have 36 hours off."

"Oh… ok," I said lamely.

We were both quiet for a bit as I ate. Then Edward began to speak, "Um… will you be wanting to get your own clothes… or…?" He trailed of suggestively.

I suddenly realized that I had no idea how long I was going to stay here for; surely Edward didn't want me here for long…

"Oh! Umm… Well," I didn't really know what to say, I was babbling, "When do you want me to leave… I mean… I don't really know yet… But..." I started going red. I couldn't just expect that I could stay here. I was stupid, last night I should have been thinking about a place to stay instead of basically just pottering around.

I looked up to see that Edward was gazing at me, and I felt self-conscious. "Bella I don't really expect you to find a place to stay immediately, you can stay here as long as you like, quite frankly." He looked like he was going to say more, but he stopped suddenly, looking embarrassed…?

I was quiet for a moment before I said shyly, "Thank you… that's really kind of you. But I have to go get some clothes from my home…"

"Of course. If you like, I can drive you there."

Half an hour later Edward pulled up in front of my house… well, my old house now, I suppose.

Edward waited in the car while I went inside- thankful that Jack worked most weekends and this weekend was one of them- and packed a large duffel bag with all my basic things.

I emerged from the house 20 minutes later with the bag, and I got back into the car, the bag on my lap.

We drove back to the apartment, and I unpacked some of my things in a corner of the closet in the bedroom. I stood back for a moment, wondering what to do now.

And then I knew that now it was time to talk with Edward. Properly.

I went back into the main room, and Edward was seated on one of the sofas in front of the TV, even though it was off. He looked up from a pile of papers he had been looking at when I walked into the room; I came and sat down on the sofa parallel to his, as he put away the papers in an envelope.

I decided to start off softly, with small things.

"So," I said. I think Edward had sensed that we were going to talk about things he probably also sensed what things. "How's your family?"

He winced slightly before answering. He did know, "They're all well, thank you. Rosalie and Emmett are overseas at the moment; Alice and Jasper still stay With Esme and Carlisle. Alice has started another fashion project," He chuckled. "How are Charlie and Renee?"

"Oh they're fine, thanks. Renee's very happy with Phil, and Charlie is content with his fishing with Billy and Harry."

The phone rang then, and Edward got up to answer it. "Excuse me," He said to me before answering, "Hello? It's none of your business! Stay out of it! No, not now, not ever." He sounded irritated with whoever he was speaking to. "What? I don't think that's such a good idea…ok fine… why?! No, not now, maybe later, it's not a good time…NO. I said not now, no… You'll see it. Ok. OK. Bye."

He hung up, and went back to take his seat, "Sorry about that." What an odd conversation. It made absolutely no sense at all! I wanted to sigh. That's new. Not.

"Don't worry about it." I was quiet for a few moments before asking, "What have you all been up to these past few years? If… if you don't mind me asking.

Edward sighed before answering me, "Well, I've been Carlisle's intern here since the beginning of the month. Before that, I was doing a 3 year course at Stanford in Medicine. I'm still completing a course at the moment. Alice has started her own fashion marketing line over the past two years, that's what I meant by her project. Jasper is helping her with the business aspect of it, not that she needs much help. Esme is into designing houses, and architecture. Basically all aspects of making houses. She absolutely loves it. Emmett at some point was doing personal training at gyms but at the same time he's moving a bit to sports medicine. Rosalie has taken an interest to modeling, and photography, she seems to be liking it quite a bit. Emmett has gone with her to New York for a few weeks now for a bit of resear----" He suddenly stopped up short, and I wondered why.

And then I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror behind Edward. And to my utter embarrassment, I realized that a couple of tears had started to dribble down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hands, and tried to calm myself so I wouldn't start crying again.

I had just stung a bit, I always knew that Edward and his family would move on, but it hurt to hear Edward describe the details of what they were doing, and just how happy they all were in whatever they were doing.

I didn't realize that I was so far gone that I would start crying in front of Edward!

"I'm sorry, carry on. Rosalie and Emmett went to New York to do what?"

A pained look touched Edward's eyes, "Bella, I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what? Forget about it, I… I just… I'm just hormonal, that's it. You know us woman," I tried to joke, but instead I felt my cheeks flush red as I realized how awkward and silly and unbelievable my babbling and ranting sounded like.

Suddenly Edward was sitting beside me, "Bella, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you… Maybe we should talk about this later-"

"No!" I insisted. Slightly annoyed now. "I am not postponing this conversation till later! You have a lot to explain for; you have to explain it now! Why are you even bothering with all this? I accepted it, it stung A LOT, but I accepted that you don't love me, that you don't want me, but why?! Why are you bothering to… to… talk to me to give me a place to stay, to be kind to me, why do you even bother with me if I was such a hassle to you?! Because it confuses me, and it hurts me too, Edward! I… I…"

I had to stop there; I was breathless from my sudden outburst. I had started to cry again, but this time I didn't bother try and hide it. He had to see. He had to see that I didn't understand anything he had been doing, he had to know that it hurt, and that, whatever his intentions, he couldn't walk back into my life like that, not without explaining.

"Bella..." Edward began. He looked really upset, and his velvet voice was agonized, but what could I do? He then took a deep breath and then said, "Bella, back in the forest… seven years ago, I lied. I…" He seemed to be searching for his words. "I… I don't even know where to begin, Bella!" His voice turned desperate. What was he on about?

"Bella, I…I left you, because I wanted to protect you. You were… you were constantly getting into danger, because you spent so much time, so close to my kind, to vampires. And that… that incident with Jasper…" He winced.

And I was going numb. Part of me refused to remember what he was saying, part of me refused to believe what he was saying.

"I thought that, if I left you, you would be happier, that you would move on. I thought that if you thought that I didn't love you, that it would be easier for you to move on. And I'm so sorry, Bella. For hurting you so greatly. I will never forgive myself for hurting you like I did."

What was he saying? WHAT WAS HE SAYING? Did he… Did he still… no. I didn't accept it.

"But now," Edward continued, "It's been seven years. So, I wouldn't expect you to… I mean … You have your own life now, Bella! And I just, I don't know…"

I had never seen Edward struggle so much for words.

But whatever I had been thinking he was going to say before, I knew I was wrong now. He was trying to find a way to let me down easy because he could obviously so clearly see that I was still in love with him. That I had never gotten over him not entirely. Maybe I thought I had, when I had first met Jack, but really, it was so clear now.

I just sat there, waiting for him to say the words that would crush me again.

Edward took a deep breath and spoke again, "Bella what I mean to say is, I don't mind if you want to be friends, or not. But I think you should know that I … well, I lo-----"

He was confusing me even more now, because the one word that started with 'l' and 'o', the ones I most wanted to hear coming out of his mouth must have been other ones.

But before I could feel more pain, I heard a gasp from the side, from the entrance to the apartment.

"BELLA!" I high pitch, beautiful voice squealed from the side of the room, way higher than Edward's voice. I spun around, and jumped up.

I ran towards the pixie-like figure, tears streaming down my face.

"ALICE!"

And we threw ourselves into each others arms.


Ok, i know i know, Edward didn't manage to finish what he had to say, and Bella has other ideas. But Alice is here!! :D hehe ^^

Did it get a little boring before Edward and Bella talked?

Please review, it really inspires me to write more when you do! :)

Thanks!

xxx