Recap:

BPOV: "Come," Edward whispered softly. I was too tired to object so I crept forward and rested against his warm body as he wrapped his arms around me to cocoon us in the tiny sheet. Once we were both covered, he rested his head down next to mine and very quickly, we both fell asleep.

The Truth about Jessica

Edward's POV

I cracked one eye open, but closed it immediately as the sharp, bright rays of sunlight invaded my vision. I peeked once more at the ground and caught sight of Alice and Jasper fast asleep, even more tangled in the sheets than when they'd began. My head tilted gently to the right and I could faintly see the two forms on the couch, Rosalie wrapped tightly in Emmett's arms, keeping her warm.

I looked down to the figure on the couch with me, although I didn't need to. I knew who it was, and I wasn't complaining. I could feel her body against me, her breath playing on my neck, her chest rising and falling in rhythm to mine.

But best of all, I could smell the luscious, floral scent emanating off of her hair and cocooning me in the essence. It made my mouth water. Even after four years of separation, her scent was still distinguishable to me and could still, to this day make my whole body react to it like the first day I had met her.

I turned my head slightly and very slowly and saw Bella fast asleep beside me. Sometime during the night, our positions had changed; we were now situated perpendicularly to how we originated. My head rested on the armrest and my feet were splayed across the couch. Bella was snuggled between my body and the couch, her head on my shoulder, her nose pressed against the crook of my neck.

When else would I ever be so close to her again? I studied her glossy and messy brown hair cascading across my chest, followed by her arm. I studied the crook of her nose and her long eyelashes resting on her cheeks. I studied her heart shape face, half covered by her hair. And then I studied her lips. Oh, her lips. They were soft, moist, slightly parted, round, plump, and yes, they were unbearably tempting—probably even more mouth-watering than her amazing scent. It wouldn't have been overly difficult for me to shift over and lay a soft, quick peck upon those lips.

But she wasn't Jessica.

Don't get me wrong. What I feel for Jessica was almost nonexistent compared to how I feel about Bella, how I've always felt about Bella, but I wasn't the kind of guy that could cheat on his girlfriend. I was committed to Jessica. I already knew it wouldn't be long until Jessica and I were over though. It was common knowledge that she had a thing for Newton. Hell, I was all for it, they were both equally annoying.

Maybe once Jessica and I are over and done with, I can make a move on Bella. Make a move? Gosh, I was such a douche. I didn't want to 'make a move' on Bella. I wanted to make her mine. I wanted to tell her about those four years without her, those four years of utter loneliness, those four years of leaning towards the side of depression. Although those dark years were slightly helpful because of how much it opened my eyes and showed me how completely broken and unwholesome I was without her—I wanted her to know, to see how ecstatic I am to have her back. How much I needed her to stay by my side and never leave for Arizona or anywhere else again.

Wow. That's got to be the lamest thing ever. I wanted to tell Bella that I couldn't live without her? That I needed her with me to even breathe right? That she was the only person that I've ever been able to really open up to and the only person that ever truly understood me? She would most likely run away from me screaming. She'd probably run right back to Arizona.

Or maybe, just maybe, she would smile and say, "I know, Edward. It's been the same for me—complete hell without you."

I sighed and pressed my nose into her hair. A guy could dream, couldn't he?

I felt Bella's breathing rate increase and her eyelashes fluttering open against my neck. I closed mine instinctively, as if I were hiding from her. She stirred. Her body moved against mine. I clenched my jaw. Everything about her was wonderful. I worked hard to suppress a groan when her leg inched up mine, grazing against me.

The one hand against my chest was pulled away suddenly. She rose off the couch gently, trying to support her weight off the couch with her hand so that she was off of me. I peered at her through tiny slits as she scanned the room before her eyes settled on me. She then pushed off the couch and crept over me (it was a glorious sight, by the way). I was debating whether or not to open my eyes and pretend that I had just woken up also. I decided not to. I didn't want to make the situation any more uncomfortable for her. So I laid there in a fake slumber as she silently walked away.

I opened my eyes when she was gone and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. We all had toothbrushes at each of our houses for convenience sake. I found mine easily and quickly made myself more presentable. Other than my bed head which never changed, I looked alright. Or at least I thought I did. How did Bella think I looked when she saw me after four years? I knew what I thought of her the second I caught a glimpse of her, even before I truly saw her face to conclude that it truly was my Bella.

I sighed and splashed water on my face, trying to revive myself. I needed to be calm. This was Bella. She was my best friends and I hers. We needed to be happy like that again and that couldn't happen if I was drooling at her the whole time. I dried my face and took a huge breath.

When I came out, I could hear Bella in the kitchen. I walked over quietly and then leaned on the doorframe watching her. She had brushed her hair back and tied it up in a ponytail, and there was now a sweater over her tight fitted t-shirt. Was she cold last night? Was I at least gentlemanly enough to keep her warm?

She turned to the fridge and spotted me instantly. I smiled. She looked beautiful even now, at the earliest time in the morning.

"Good morning," she said sweetly.

"Morning," I said. "How did you sleep?" I wanted to know if she was okay with what had happened. I wanted to know how she felt about me. I wanted to know if we could ever do that again. I wanted to know anything and everything about her.

"Comfortably, thanks," she said smiling and hiding her face from me in the fridge. She pulled out a carton of eggs and smiled again. I grinned back not out of obligation, but because on her cheeks, I could see a faint tinge of red. I loved her blush.

While she made the eggs, I sliced bread and vegetables and cheese. I even toasted and buttered the bread, chores I don't even do in my own house. But I would do it for her. I would do anything for her. I laid the table for the six of us, not knowing when the rest would awaken.

We talked very little during the preparations. I would glance at her every now and then, and occasionally, her head would turn in my direction, and I would turn my eyes away shyly.

"What's new with you, Edward?" She asked conversationally.

"Nothing much really." I smiled at her. "It Forks, nothing really does change here."

"You've changed," she said quietly as she flipped the eggs in the pan.

"Really? I haven't noticed. In a bad way or…" Was change good? What if I was someone she couldn't be friends with anymore?

"No no," she stumbled over her words quickly and then blushed at her haste. "I mean, you're still the same personality-wise, but your face has changed," she said again, blushing redder this time. "And you've grown…we used to be the same height you know?" She peered up at me.

I laughed. I was now at least a head taller than her. I could probably rest my arm on the top of her head. Or better yet, she could rest her head in the crook of my shoulder.

"I do remember," I said as I came up behind her and peered down at her, smirking.

She stuck her tongue out at me and went back to focusing on the nearly cooked eggs.

"How was everything…after I left?" She asked suddenly.

I was startled for a second because I hadn't realized I had zoned out while I was looking at her. As I processed her words, I began to panic. Do I tell her the truth? Now? She had only just come back! I didn't want to scare her or make her feel bad for leaving me.

But maybe she felt the same way I did? I decided that maybe I would just say it, but make it into a joke? That could work, right?

"Well basically, my life just went downhill after you deserted me," I said grinning.

Damn. I should have known things never go as planned. She didn't grin or smirk or show any signs of humor.

In fact, she did the exact opposite. She frowned. And that made me frown. I didn't want to hurt her.

"What happened?" she asked quietly with fear in her eyes, as if she expected me to tell her that the most disastrous thing in history had happened when she left.

I sighed inwardly. She was my best friend. I was positive she felt as bad as I did, if not for four whole years, then at least for a couple of months after she had left. I didn't have to tell her that I felt broken without her for the four years she was gone. I could just mention the feelings I felt.

"After you left, I had no one to really talk to. I guess I never really realized how much I relied on how… close we were. It was quite boring and lonely I guess," I said with sadness coloring my tone.

I didn't look at her because my voice would remain steady if I could keep my head on my shoulders. If I peered into her eyes, who knew what I would have said or worse, what I would have done?

"You had Alice, and Rose, and Jasper, and Emmett," she said sadly, listing all the people I could have turned to.

I laughed quietly. As if I hadn't tried all of that? As if I hadn't tried to open up to them…

But the pain in her voice made me want to lighten the conversation as much as possible. "Yeah, I did. And then they all hooked up and started making out in front of me so I just retreated as fast as I could." I turned and grinned at her because I knew that she would eventually be able to relate with me on this. "I'm happy for them, really. They're all perfect for each other," I said, smiling.

She didn't smile back. "At least you have Jessica, right?"

"Yeah…I guess she was okay. She's just difficult to open up to, you know?" I said quietly, looking away from her again. Why was I suddenly ashamed of going out with Jessica?

"Why?" she asked simply. I suppose I owed her an answer to that.

"Jessica's not the same to me as Alice is to Jasper, or Rosalie to Emmett," I said looking down.

"What is she to you, then?" she asked, slightly confused.

"I-I don't know how to explain it," I answered her truthfully

"Do you," she paused and inhaled slightly, "I mean, do you love her?" She peered at me.

I coughed slightly. Oh God. Would she think of me as a disgusting fool if I told her the truth?

"Bella, she's not exactly my girlfriend. I'll admit we're together, but it's just…different."

"I don't get it. Why are you with her if she's not your girlfriend" she asked, even more confused than before.

I sighed. I wanted to tell Bella the truth, the whole truth. But I just didn't know how to explain it without sounding desperate and like a sad puppy.

"After you left, Alice and Jasper hooked up. I was truly happy for them. We always used to say they were perfect for each other. Remember that?" I asked, recollecting our old memories.

She smiled and nodded, waiting for me to continue.

"And then after them, Rosalie and Emmett hooked up. I was happy for them, too; they're hilarious together. But then, during our 'excursions', I began feeling more like the fifth wheel than a friend. I know it wasn't intentional, but it's bound to happen when you hang out with two couples and you're the only one there that's single. And so I started showing my face less and less. It didn't affect our friendship much, since I saw them at school regularly and talked to them online and on the phone and stuff… but I felt left out all the same."

There, she had it. The feelings that I have kept bottled up for so long were finally out in the open. But why didn't I feel relieved?

She looked at me closely, probably trying to figure out what I was saying or feeling. "And then you found Jessica, and now you're happy?" she said in a small voice.

"I didn't 'find' Jessica. I more…stumbled across her." Gosh, I was a terrible person. I was definitely going to hell for this. I dished the eggs onto the plates and then looked up at her. I watched her face; she didn't understand a word I was saying. I didn't understand a word I was saying.

"Jessica just happened to be a spur of the moment kind of thing. Apparently, she had liked me for a while. I was oblivious, but everyone kept suggesting for us to date. For the school dance in October, I asked her if she would like to come with me. We went and I guess we've been together ever since. I dunno, we'll see how it all plays out…it hasn't been going how I expected it to," I said stumbling over my words.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked. She pressed me for more details about Jessica when really; all I wanted to do was talk about her.

"I figured that if I had Jessica, we could hang out with Rosalie and Emmett and Alice and Jasper more often without me feeling like a fifth wheel."

"But it didn't work?" she asked me, leaning against the cupboard facing me.

"Not quite. Jessica preferred to go out with her friends. And so we would double date a lot with Lauren," I said with a slight tone of disgust. I hated the way Lauren looked at me—as if I were a shirt on sale that she had to get. And a hot pink one too.

"Ah, Lauren. The Queen Bee, is she not?" Bella asked, remembering our conversations from when we were little. Neither of us had ever been a fan of Lauren. She was just plain rude, though surprisingly never to me. I suppose she didn't like Bella much as a child, as Bella was my best friend, and, at the time, Lauren had this deranged obsession with me. Frankly, I couldn't care less about her. Anybody who had a problem with Bella had a problem with me.

"Lauren is still the same. Rude to anyone that stands in the way of what she wants," I grunted.

She laughed. It was beautiful. "Does she still want you?" she asked me, watching my face closely.

"I really hope not," I said truthfully. "Actually, I take that back. I hope she does."

She frowned at me. "You like Lauren?" Gosh, she was just so darn cute. Even when she was utterly disgusted.

"No, not at all. But if she likes me, I get to turn her down and I think it's time she tasted bitter rejection, don't you?" I asked with an evil smirk on my face.

"I think its way overdue. She needed to be rejected a long time ago," she answered taking a bite of her toast.

We talked back and forth, as we sat at the table and ate her wonderfully cooked meal. It wasn't long after until Alice and Jasper woke up and then Rose and Emmett. They joined us at the table, and we talked for a good two hours. We told Bella of school and the teachers we'd heard stories about when we were in elementary school. And then she asked Emmett about La Push, and Jacob.

All I knew of Jacob was that he and Bella had been childhood friends that much I knew. But that was it. I was jealous that she had asked about him. I hoped that she and he remained friends. Just friends.

After breakfast, Emmett dropped Rosalie and Jasper home and Alice and I left slightly after. Bella's shopping trip was postponed because she was somehow able to convince Rose and Alice that it would be better if they went shopping after she unpacked so she could at least find what she needed. How she was able to convince them, I didn't understand; she'd need to teach me her skill someday.

Tomorrow was her first day at Forks High School. I knew she was nervous but I would make an effort to protect her of course. I would walk her to her classes, and introduce her... well, re-introduce her to the people I knew. "Tomorrow is a new day" I told myself in hope for the new possibilities of having her by my side.

Maybe, if everything went well, I could squeeze in some time to talk to Jessica?

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