I really enjoyed the feedback on the last chapter. Thanks for leaving your comments. Oh, and sorry about the typos, I didn't have time to check over everything! Enjoy

The group had waited for well over an hour before tired yawns began, that was when they finally decided to call it a night, albeit reluctantly, and left for their own homes.

"It's better if we speak to him anyways, give him time to process and then explain" Alice rationalises as the group begin towards the front door.

"Yeah and as interested as I am, I'm ready to sleep for 14 hours" Jacob lets out a dramatic yawn accompanied by his arms reach over his head to stretch.

"Amen, brother," Emmett pipes in from near his car as he waits for his wife to climb in. Jasper and Alice wait for him to pull out his massive jeep from the driveway first and watch as Tanya jumps into Jacob's car. She had been quiet for the remainder of their night and had sulked in the corner, 'not that anyone cares' Alice thinks harshly.

"Ready to go, darlin'?"

"Yep…oh, wait where's my cell?"

"You probably let it on the sofa. Hurry on back," his southern drawl more apparent now that the couple are alone. He knew his wife loved it when his accent was more evident so he made sure to lay it on thick when they were alone.

Alice rushes inside and starts patting down the big sofa that rests in the middle of Edward's huge home. Edward had the biggest home out of his siblings, which none of them could seem to understand since he was also the only by himself, but they always appreciated the enormity of the place. It just made the bachelor pad seem even more cool. 'Well, maybe not a bachelor pad anymore', Alice muses as her hand comes across a cool metal trapped between the leather seat and the back of the sofa. She pulls it out with rigor and turns to go back to her waiting husband. In her rush, she missed her brother descending the stairs until she was right before him.

He tucks the covers around Bella and sit on the bed beside her, taking her hand into his. She looks tired even in her sleep. Edward didn't think it was possible to feel worse than he already but every time his stopped wandering the room and fell on Bella, the pit in his stomach grew deeper.

'Why did I have to fail you again?' he thinks. He had promised himself that he would never let her feel this way again. That he would always protect her, care for her. Love her. How could he do that when he was too much of a coward to even face her? Edward knew what that man was capable of, he had seen the aftermath first hand and yet, 'yet I couldn't do anything'. The more he pondered on it, the more the vein on his forehead pulsated. It was making him nauseous. He wipes away the remnants of the tears on his face and makes to stand up. As he does so, he hears the door opening downstairs. Maybe if his family is gone, he can go downstairs and leave something by Bella's bedside to eat in case she wakes up at night. He just knows that she hasn't eaten anything since.

He loses his own appetite at the thought.

As he heads downstairs, he can see that the lights are off in the living room and through the glass encased walls, he notices that his siblings' cars are no longer in the drive way. He doesn't even want to begin thinking about his explanation yet. All he wants to do is focus on Bella. As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he is surprised to see Alice rushing around the living room and almost sprinting towards the front door, her head is inclined towards the glass windows so he knows she wouldn't have seen him yet. He briefly considers slipping away into the unlit hallway but doesn't have the energy to hide. Not tonight.

For a moment, she doesn't know what to say to him, he looks tired. Not the kind of tired he is after work but as if the burdens of the whole world are on his shoulders and he would bear it silently. She recognises this look. It reminds her of when Rosalie miscarried her first child and by the time they reached the hospital, Emmett was sitting outside on the chairs with his head in his hands. He had this same look on his face back them. Like he had let her down, as if he should be blamed for the misfortunes out of his control.

Now she thinks it was a good think to have everyone come back tomorrow, because tonight would be too cruel on him. She could see he had cried, his eyes were swollen and the bloodshot still remained in his left eye. His cheeks were flushed which looked even more apparent against his pale skin. He looked tired and scared. It broke her heart more than she thought possible. She clutches her phone in both hands in hopes of holding her tears at bay.

"Is she asleep? Bella, I mean" she asks tentatively.

"Yes, she just fell asleep. She wore herself out," He blinks, finally. Rubbing a hand across his face, as if that would wipe away his worries.

Alice reaches out her small hands and wraps them around her brother. If she can't do anything else, hopefully she can at least provide him with some comfort. His arms fold over her almost immediately, as if this is all he had been doing for the last hour. He reminds her how safe it feels to have Edward looking after her and protecting her. In high school, when Jasper's family had to return back to Texas for his grandma's funeral during the school term, Mike Newton followed her around like an idiot for the whole 2 weeks, hoping to steal away a coveted Cullen for himself. No matter how much she rejected his advances, the guy just couldn't take a hint. Edward was so busy with earning extra credits to try to get his scholarship and make Carlisle proud, that she didn't want to disturb him by even mentioning it to him. Eventually, Mike thought the best way to win her heart would be to surprise her with a kiss. Maybe he had terrible timing because he decided to do it in the parking lot after school, the day that she was riding with Edward, and when her brother saw her say no and Mike kiss her anyways, he saw red. That's the only time in her life that Alice can remember Edward being violent because he beat the shit out of Mike Newton that day. He was saved from suspension because he was more than the model student but she'll never forget that even after jacking up his fists in breaking Mike's face, Edward came over to her and asked if she was okay. After all that! And then he just hugged her for such a long time and told her he was sorry he couldn't be there to stop him and that he'll never leave her alone again. He has stayed true to his promise to this day.

No matter how much she tried to be strong for him, remembering that day let the dam loose as she cried silently into her brother's t-shirt.

"Don't cry. Please." She hates how selfish she's being. When Edward has clearly just been through a lot and he has probably been helping Bella stop crying and now, here she was, making him comfort her too. She swiftly wipes away the tears that had fallen and shifts away from his hug to look at him.

"I won't." And he just pats her head like when they were kids.

"I don't need to know tonight, you don't have to say anything. But, if she is who she says she is to you, I'm so sorry that you felt you had to keep it from us. From me. I'm sorry, Edward,"

He lets out a sigh, of defeat and of exhaustion, and he put his hands in his pockets and just smiles sadly at her.

"Let's talk tomorrow. You should get some rest,"

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