Disclaimer: The characters of this story are the intellectual property of Stephenie Meyer alone.

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Stupid Love

Renée had been watching me with wide, worried eyes all day. She'd behaved wonderfully, though, not saying anything negative. Of course that was hard to do in the presence of the Cullens. While the initial reaction was usually one of wariness, people warmed to them instantly. It was impossible not to.

Alice had made plans for a ladies' day, conveniently rescuing me from alone time with my mother. So we, along with Esme and Rosalie, were at the Cullen's magnificent house going over wedding arrangements. My mother loved my dress. She loved the decorations Alice had bought. She loved everything, but her eyes stayed worried.

Esme was working her magic, though. Renée had been surprised to see just how long Edward's "adopted" mother was and doubted her competency, though she was no judge herself, until Esme spoke. Her motherly instincts oozed and she and Renée found plenty of inside jokes to mention. I tried not to smile too suspiciously as I watched them.

Rosalie, beautiful blond bombshell Rosalie, smiled charmingly and was lovely the entire time. Her attitude towards me the past month had changed ever so slightly. We weren't quite friends yet, but she was silently accepting my decision to willingly give up my humanity. I didn't think she would ever understand that, but I hoped that it wouldn't make things worse.

As evening came the men returned from a hike with Phil trailing happily behind. Charlie had declined to join them, having taken the weekend shift. I was sure he did so intentionally, and I wished things weren't the way they were. I had no idea whether he and Phil would like each other, as I doubted they had met when Charlie dropped Renée off last night.

"There's some interesting scenery, I'll give you that." Phil was saying as they entered. His tone of voice sounded as though he had only half enjoyed it.

"Well, it does rain a lot," Carlisle said with a grin.

Renée laughed and I looked at her, surprised by the action. Edward came to my side right away, kissing me and then fastening his arm around my waist.

"That's an understatement to the worst degree," she explained and I grinned. Ah, rainy Forks. How I had once hated the dark, gloomy skies. Now it was almost my favorite type of weather. Almost. I would love sunny days once more when Edward and I were in privacy. I suddenly wondered if I would still be blinded by Edward's dazzling skin once I glittered too.

"I suggested that we take Renée and Phil out to dinner," Edward said and I looked up at him.

"Oh, um, okay. Great idea!" Where are you going to hide the food, hmm? I thought silently.

Taking her cue, Esme stepped forward and hugged Renée, a little awkwardly, but I hoped that would be passed off as due to the unsure relationship.

"It's been a pleasure to finally meet you," she said and Renée flushed.

"Same here. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all that you're doing for Bella. An entire wedding on such short notice! I don't know how you've managed to pull it off!"

"Alice loves projects," I mumbled and Emmett laughed before plopping onto the couch. Jasper's calm and quiet presence joined him and it was Carlisle's turn to stretch out a hand and make compliments.

As we walked down the porch steps towards Edward's car Renée leaned in to me and said, "They're so nice! I didn't know such nice people could be real. I'm glad that, with everything considered, they'll be your family. They're so wonderful."

I laughed and held the back door open for Renée as Phil and Edward crossed to the other side. "I know, Mom. I just love them too."

As Edward turned around and headed back down the long driveway Phil asked, "So are you two getting a house of your own, or what?"

Whoops. I hadn't thought of that question.

"Uh," I began but Edward gave my hand a pat and smiled in the rear view mirror at Phil.

"Well, we've only got a little while before we have to be at Dartmouth." Ugh, I hated that lie.

"Oh, right. I'd forgotten," Phil said and let it lie without further question. Renée, unfortunately, did not.

"But you don't have to be at school until the end of August. Where are you going to live for that month?" Her voice was slightly panicked, as though the lack of our public plans was reason enough to end the affair.

Well, Mom, I thought in my head. We're going to disappear for a few weeks, at least, to a place without any humans while I turn into a blood-thirsty, but oh so beautiful (hopefully) vampire. The end of my humanity seemed to be making my mind much more sarcastic than usual.

"You might want to ask Carlisle and Esme," Edward said carefully. "I think they've been planning something." He grinned and Renée sat back in her seat with a huff.

"As in an apartment somewhere? An extended honeymoon? Those are both awfully expensive."

"So is Dartmouth, Mom," I said and turned in my seat to smile at her. "Don't worry so much. You'll get frown lines."

"I'm just thinking about your comfort, Bella," she said in as motherly a tone as she could master.

I smiled at her again. "I'll be perfectly comfortable, I'm sure." Minus the whole burning pain I'll endure for days.

I saw Edward glance at me, his eyes dark. Clearly he'd had a similar thought. His knuckles were white as he clenched the steering wheel. I lay a hand on his leg and bantered with Phil about the outing, hoping Edward would stop worrying too.

After a short debate about where to eat, the options were few, we wound up inside of the tacky Lodge. Renée was red as she recognized people and kept her head down most of the meal.

"I bet the town has been alight with gossip," she commented.

I shuddered and Edward laughed.

"Unfortunately, yes," I confessed.

"Those things never change. How many of them are invited?"

"Not many. A few friends from school, that's all. I really didn't want a big show."

Phil snorted into his drink and we all looked at him. Edward was smirking, knowing what he was thinking.

"All those wedding favors and stuff, were for a few people?" He said and shook his head. "Either you have a strange concept of the word few or you're spoiling your guests."

I grinned and held up my hands. "Hey, I had very little to do with it. This is Alice's thing, not mine."

Renée frowned. I'd never seen her frown so much. "Whose wedding is this?" She muttered it so quietly I knew I was supposed to have heard. My forehead creased. She noticed my eyes on her and straightened slightly.

"I just meant that you should have taken a greater hand in everything."

"I didn't want to. Edward and I set the date. We approved the guest list. We approved the stationary. I couldn't have done a better job of things." Granted, the urge to elope to Vegas had been overwhelming, but that wouldn't have been enough closure. I needed to finish this life perfectly before beginning my next one. "She's giving me a dream wedding, and I feel nothing but gratitude."

Phil was looking at his gravy-laden food as though he felt guilty for saying anything pertaining to the wedding. Renée sighed and gave me a strained smile.

"She is a wonderful planner. She should go into business."

Edward took the opportunity to draw the conversation away from stress and instead informed Renée about Alice's "plans" to attend the same college as Jasper, her "brother" in all matters mortal.

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. We all seemed to be eating quickly as though anxious for it to be over, but I knew that Renée and Phil had nothing better to do. There was absolutely nothing on the limited TV channels the bed and breakfast subscribed to. The fact that summer days were so long was beginning to wear on us all.

"It was great to meet your folks," Phil said at the end of the night as he and Renée exited the car.

"Yes, it was. . . nice." My mother's voice was happy, if halting, but her eyes were as fixed on me as ever. They were still sad, but at least she hadn't openly spoken about her worries. With a inward sigh I hugged my mother tightly and she returned it.

Charlie's cruiser was parked in the driveway as we pulled in behind it. Something made me sit in my seat and stare at the house. I was jealous of Charlie and angry with him for leaving me to my mother. Not that I could blame him in any way, but I still didn't like it.

Edward let out a heavy sigh and I flicked my head to look at him. I hadn't heard such a terrifying sigh in at least a few days. A streak of yellow light appeared on the grass as Charlie opened the front door and headed towards us.

"Don't worry," was all Edward said before getting out of the car and walked around to open my door. Charlie, standing a few feet away, had a worried face. Every one seemed to have painted worried faces on. I wondered if they would wash away before my "big day."

"Bells," Charlie's voice was soft. I instantly panicked.

"What?" My throat automatically caught and I had difficulty swallowing.

Edward's arm wrapped around me protectively as Charlie said "Billy called. Jacob's gone missing. He left the reservation a few days ago and no one's seen him."

My weight sagged onto Edward who held me up with ease. Charlie probably didn't even notice that I felt like fainting.

What was he thinking? My head flickered with torturous memories. I closed my eyes and mentally screamed at them to stop. My Jacob. My other love. Gone. Missing. I knew why.

I opened my eyes, utterly determined. Charlie's face was concerned and Edward's cautious.

"Well?" I asked. "That's too bad. I'd help if I could, but I can't." A bitter taste stuck in my mouth. It was true, though. I wouldn't know where to look for him. If Billy had called then it was clearly beyond the hands of the wolves and if they couldn't track his trace, I certainly wouldn't be able to.

A scowl crossed Charlie. "Bella. That's not right. He's a good friend of yours. You should-"

"Was, Dad. He was a good friend of mine." Tears stung at my eyes. Stop it! I yelled at myself. No tears for him! I made my choice!

Charlie shook his head and opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off.

"What am I supposed to do? Cry and stamp my foot? No, Dad. I wish him well. I hope they find him, but I can't do or say anything else. It's not like that any more."

Charlie's face was turning purple. I sighed. "Charlie, please. I'm tired. I've had to defend myself against mom all day. I don't want to defend myself here, too. I'm going to bed." I turned and stood up on tip toe to kiss Edward, giving him a meaningful look before reluctantly leaving his arms.

His face made me nervous. It was still cautious, like I might still change my mind. Never, I told myself bitterly.

Walking up the stairs I heard Charlie ask Edward. "What happened between them? They were so close."

I missed the conversation willingly as I closed my bedroom door. I thought. My window was still wide open, though, letting in the summer breeze. And their voices.

"- Bella said goodbye," Edward was saying.

Charlie huffed. I thought he must have crossed his arms, trying to be intimidating. "He was a good friend to her, Edward."

"I know that, Charlie. I owe him a lot. I know that. I'll see what I can do."

My heart pulled. Stupid love, I thought. Stupid, stupid, me. Why was I always messing things up? I thought I'd finally escaped. I thought I'd left Jacob behind me. It hurt me to know that he'd left, but I couldn't cry for him. Edward was the one I couldn't live without. I'd made my choice. I thought I'd left it behind me.

My right hand played with the tiny charm Jacob had given, had made, me. I heard the front door close and the TV turn on. I was glad, yet again, that Charlie didn't pry. He probably assumed I was upset and crying, and nothing was worse for him to deal with than teenage tears.

I hadn't heard the Volvo leave, but Edward was suddenly on the bed, sitting beside me. I didn't look up, my eyes were locked on the charm, but I could tell he was wondering about my decision. I took a deep breath, looked up, grabbed his cold face in both hands- his surprised face was adorably handsome- and kissed him for all my worth.

"Don't ever doubt me," I warned and he gave me his crooked smile.

"Never. You're far too dangerous."