"Everywhere people stare

Each and every day

I can see them laugh at me

And I hear them say,

'Hey, you've got to hide your love away.' "

-"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away", The Beatles

Alice Whitlock checked her watch as she merged onto the interstate, noting that it was a little after five in the evening. A late meeting had prevented her from having lunch so in turn she found herself starved. She knew the hour drive she had ahead of her would surely kill her unless she had something of substance in her stomach. Jasper was out of town for work so there was nothing for Alice to rush home to, and her parents were too busy planning for their start of summer barbeque to be bothered. Her brother Emmett lived an extra twenty miles past her own house so that was out of the question. That left her other brother Edward to be her dining companion for the evening. It was actually pretty perfect, actually - Edward's studio was on her way home and she knew that was where she would find him. Grabbing a quick bite to eat and catching up with her favorite brother was always something Alice looked forward to, even if she found Edward in one of his sour moods.

She knew that Emmett had stopped over earlier in the morning to check up on Edward so Alice knew Edward would just be absolutely tickled pink to have the privilege of seeing both of his siblings in the same day. Alice hated admitting, even to herself, that they were still "checking up" on him after so long. She tried to convince herself time and time again that they were just making sure he was alright, but if she was honest with herself, she knew that all she wanted to do was see a glimpse of the man her brother once was.

She really was quite a lucky lady. Before that she was the luckiest girl in all of Forks to have the big brothers that she had. Emmett was always a good guy to have around; he deterred any unwanted advances from the pimply faced teenagers that still populated the town and little Lauren Mallory stopped pulling Alice's pigtails on the playground once big brother bear Emmett happened to catch her in the act. Alice was able to walk with her head held high with confidence because she could always see Emmett's shadow not a few feet behind her.

Edward was different.

While Emmett would be busy meeting Alice's enemies after school for some good old fashioned roughing up, Edward would be the one that held her as she cried. He was attuned to her more sensitive and vulnerable side. He didn't say much but that was the way that their relationship was. He was always there for her, no matter the circumstance, and was always a literal shoulder to cry on. After she was done with her tears for the time being, Edward would take her to his piano. He would sit her right beside him on his bench and soon he would start to play. It was silly, Alice had thought as a child, but listening to Edward play was the most therapeutic release she had ever known. It was as if her problems would disappear with each passing note, never to bother her again. There was only one person in the world that could do that, and it was Edward, with or without music.

It was only fair that she return the favor once it was Edward who became the one that was lost. So she set off on her mission to restore the Edward that she had come to love and she found that she was just not good at it. At all. He surely would have snapped out of it by now if whatever she was doing was working.

So somehow they had all made a decision that by stopping over unannounced would maybe convince Edward that he needed a hard kick in the ass to get focused again, to get that fire back in his eyes. Alice couldn't remember the day or the moment that she realized that Edward would never be the same again. Maybe she knew it all along. Maybe she knew it that very day when Edward came home in a storm of hysterics saying that Bella was gone and Charlie wouldn't tell him where she went. Maybe she knew then that the only person who could fix him was the one that ran away.

It was a quick drive towards downtown Forks, and Alice was thankful that her work took her closer to Edward on that particular day. Forks didn't exactly keep her busy in her career as an event planner but she found herself working in neighboring towns and cities that held current population sizes larger than Forks' population of the last decade combined. Nonetheless, the possibility of being able to spend time with Edward was enough to keep her somewhat local, considering that he would never leave Forks until he knew for certain that Bella would never be coming back.

The rain fell steadily and warm and she made sure she grabbed her umbrella before she headed upstairs towards Edward's studio. As she parked her car in the parking lot, she glanced up and saw a light shining through the tiny window of his studio. Even if he was in the middle of a lesson, Edward would motion for her to wait a few minutes so she wouldn't go. Alice knew when she opened the door exactly what kind of mood Edward was in. She let herself stay downstairs in the stairwell for a few minutes so she could listen to the piano singing its melancholy into the air. She had no doubt as to who the composer was.

Alice remembered the songs Edward used to play for her to make her feel better when she was younger. It would start off somber to reflect her current mood but always by the end of the song the notes would transform into some type of positive energy. Alice could see the light at the end of the tunnel and she would kiss Edward thankfully on the cheek, practically skipping out of the room, her mood shifting into the other direction.

This song had no positive energy. Instead, she listened to the beautifully sad notes merge together to form one big ball of despair. The ending was powerful and as he lingered to its ending, it left her with a sad feeling. Edward's music was a glimpse into his soul and Alice knew his soul was still searching for answers to those unanswered questions. Alice knew he always would be. With a shake of her head and a slight kick of her heel, she was determined to bring Edward, the real Edward, out again. At least for dinner.

She headed upstairs.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So you want to go out. Why am I not surprised?" Edward asked his sister as she made her way further into his studio. "Some things will never change."

"Come on, I have a husband who is in California for some conference, parents who are losing their minds over some silly barbeque, and I'm absolutely starving and was in the area. Of course I want to see you, too." Alice walked over and gave Edward a quick hug as he sat at his piano bench. Alice plopped down onto a couch that Edward had placed on the wall near the window. "Unless you have a lesson or something."

"No, no. Just finished up for the day actually," Edward said, running a hand through his hair. "I could probably use a drink, though." He knew it would take more than a drink to forget about his most recent Bella memory. He was grateful for the grand piano that blocked Alice's view, otherwise she would have known exactly what it was that Edward was remembering. She would have seen it. He shook his head quickly, trying to shake his head of the images of Bella from his mind. At this rate, he would have to stay hidden behind the piano all night and Alice would have been treated to the finest take out in the town.

"Okay, great! It's settled then. I was thinking of trying that new restaurant that opened up down the street, have you heard anything about it?" Alice questioned. Edward shrugged. He didn't care where they went. He didn't care about anything. He went about locking up his studio for the night, making sure everything was in its proper case and proper spot. If there was one thing that irked him it was having his studio in disarray. His life was a poster of chaos but his studio would never be.

"I'll follow you?" Alice asked as they walked down the stairs and into the parking lot. Edward nodded with a sigh, wishing he could just go home. He locked the door and turned towards Alice. His spunky little sister knew he had a soft spot for her and she played that card every chance she got. He was able to read her like a book so he knew her hunger was not the only reason she wanted to spend time with him. Edward had to admit that he enjoyed spending time with Alice; she was the only one out of his whole family that understood what he was going through. Their whole family adored Bella but it was Edward and Alice that took her leaving the hardest. Edward lost the love of his life, and Alice lost her best friend. Those two positions in life - lover and friend - was not something that could be replaced easily. Edward felt he could open up more to Alice than anyone else and Alice knew that, which was why he found himself in the trendy new restaurant a block and half down from his studio. Edward wondered what town could possibly have a small convenience store and a new trendy restaurant within a quarter mile of each other. He pictured the local members of the lumber union at a restaurant that served twenty different kinds of Cosmopolitans. The two images just didn't match up.

The restaurant was as modern as it could get and he felt underdressed. The lighting was so dim that it almost gave him a headache and the sleek monaic floors looked like they came straight from Pompeii. Alice, of course, fit right in with her designer suit and impeccable shoes and he tried to ignore it as he sat down at their table. He looked at the menu but barely read the offerings; he didn't think this was a pizza or burger and beer establishment. He should have talked Alice out of coming here. Too late.

"So, school is out! You must be thrilled!" Alice began. Edward groaned and dropped his head to his chest, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Didn't he have this exact conversation with Emmett in the morning? He was tempted to tell Alice that she and Emmett should probably compare notes before talking to him so they would have something new to report back to their mother. The waiter came to take their drink order and when he left Edward answered her.

"Yep, school's out for summer. Summer school starts next week though so I'm looking forward to that."

"Who looks forward to summer school, Edward, honestly?" She gave him an annoyed look. "You know those kids absolutely loathe stepping foot into a school in the summer, let alone having to sit in a library for four hours listening to a teacher drone on and on about some inane topic that they'll never need in the real world. No offense."

"Real good, Alice. Insulting me is a sure way to lift my spirits."

"I'm not trying to insult you, you know that. I just know why you're doing it."

"Doing what?"

"Throwing yourself into doing something that you honestly don't want to do. You used to want to spend your summers on your boat, sailing to God knows where. What happened to that dream?"

"Dreams aren't always that great," he said and shifted back slightly in his seat so the waiter could place his drink in front of him. He thought back to his dream the night before and took a big gulp of his drink. Cold and numbing. Perfect. "Sometimes dreams are meant to be held out of reach."

"Yeah, I don't know what that means. To be honest I'm just bummed that I couldn't crash your little trip around the Seven Seas. You know Jasper and I didn't buy a boat because we figured you'd take us wherever we'd want," Alice said in a serious tone but gave Edward a wink. "What am I going to do now, go home and tell him we can't sail to Tahiti because you have to teach summer school? He'd divorce me." Edward laughed this time, shaking his head at his brother in law and just how opposite he was to the picture Alice was painting at the moment.

"Tahiti, huh? Why does it have to be someplace difficult? Why can't you be happy with a quick weekend adventure?"

"Because a weekend adventure is something I can do on my own. You're my big brother with a boat - you're supposed to come up with all these exotic places to take me."

"You're right, there's a section in the manual stating that I'm solely responsible for taking my little sister around the world."

"See? Problem solved." Alice looked over at him across the table and reached for his hand. "Seriously, summer school is just something to keep you occupied. Isn't it exhausting trying to come up with things to keep you occupied? Aren't you tired of it all?"

"Of course I'm tired. Of course it's exhausting." He put his drink heavily down onto the table, his ice crashing against the sides of the glass. "You know what's even more exhausting? My thoughts. Imagine having the same thoughts over and over in your head for five years with absolutely no way to stop them or tune them out. That is what is exhausting." His eyes flashed with frustration and he sighed. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be rude. It's just that if I can find anything, anything at all, to occupy my mind, I'll do it. Even fucking summer school." Alice nodded, understanding apparent in all of her features.

"We just miss you, that's all." Her voice was a whisper. A defeated whisper. She knew the topic had run its course for the evening and they would be moving on in another conversational direction.

"I miss me, too."

The waiter, who had been waiting impatiently on the other side of the room for the siblings to enter a lull in their discussion, strolled over to them to take their dinner order. It seemed as good time as any to interrupt and from the looks of it, they were grateful for the interruption, as well. The waiter was halfway across the dining room when he heard a loud screech from another patron.

"Edward Cullen, is that you?!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Bella sunk deeply into her beach chair, digging her toes into the sand. The sand was cool between her toes, as it usually was in the evenings, and she welcomed it with opened arms. Renesmee frolicked a few feet away from her in the surf, her swimmies and tube nearly swallowing her whole. Everything about her just looked...inflatable. Bella laughed to herself and took out her planner, thinking that her planner had grown exponentially heavy in the past week. It had been a little over a week since Charlie's accident, and Bella had thrown herself into planning the rest of the summer schedule for the store in order for her to be more available to Charlie. She had spoken to him a few times, briefly, but enough to shake off some of the mental anguish that she had found herself swimming in. He was by no means out of the woods but closer to recovery than he had been. Bella was grateful for that.

It was the middle of June and Bella's planner was already opened to the end of August and she was satisfied with the summer layout. She had spent the past week on the phone with dozens of authors who were planning on stopping by the store on their promotional tours. She scheduled eight book signings, planned her themed writing sessions with pre-approved topics, and was working on finalizing the books she wanted for the book clubs the next few weeks. All in all, she felt confident in her managerial decisions and didn't feel the least bit guilty when she closed her planner for the night. She reached for her phone and typed a fast text message to Kate.

Think we could change Tuesday's staff meeting for tomorrow morning, 7 am? - Bella.

Ouch. Obviously you're not thinking of your college aged staffers who are probably going to bed around then. - Kate the Great.

My staffers don't do that. - Bella.

Of course they do. - Kate the Great.

I didn't. - Bella.

Remember when I said that you're always the exception to the rule? - Kate the Great.

Yes. - Bella.

This is one of those rules. 7 am, last minute, I'll see what I can do. - Kate the Great.

Thanks. Love you. - Bella.

I don't think you do. You're calling a meeting at 7 am tomorrow morning. Really not feeling the love. At all. - Kate the Great.

I'll bring breakfast. - Bella.

I'd kick you out of your own meeting if you didn't. - Kate the Great.

Bella smiled happily to herself and placed her planner in her beach chair, brushing the sand off of her clothes in the process. Grabbing one of Renesmee's sandpails, she walked down to the water to join Renesmee in searching for the prettiest seashell in all of Florida. They had found quite a few beauties in their explorations and Renesmee dropped a few into the sandpail in Bella's hand. These were the moments that Bella used to get through her grief and anger when it came to remembering Edward. Renesmee's dark hair managed to catch the fading embers of the sun perfectly, and Bella noticed the natural strands that were highlighted a deep bronze. It almost sparkled in the air, and it served as constant reminder as to where she came from. If the bronze highlights weren't enough, Renesmee's green eyes danced across the beach, excitement splashing in rays everywhere her eyes landed. Her eyes were a dead giveaway. This was Edward Cullen reincarnated.

As much as Bella didn't want their time on the beach to end, they eventually called it a night, packed up their belongings and walked the handful of feet that stood between the beach and their back patio. She slid the door open so Renesmee could squeeze through, careful not to let Rochester dart out. Rochester was an indoor cat but loved to sneak out and play with the baby Gecko's whenever he got the chance. Bella would never forget coming home from work one night to Rochester sitting on the kitchen counter with a tail hanging from the corner of his mouth. Because of that incident, Bella and Renesmee had learned to squeeze through tiny spaces so poor Rochester couldn't sneak out to play.

She gave Renesmee a bath, put her to sleep and Bella was thankful that the day's activities had allowed Renesmee to go down a little faster. Bella had gotten a message from Kate saying that their meeting was a go for the following morning, and Bella needed and wanted all the rest she could get.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

Bella was true to her word and arrived at the store with a dozen bagels with various spreads by 6:30 the following morning. She made sure the Keurig was fully stocked with multiple caffeinated beverages, and then went to work on making a dozen copies of her summer layout for her employees. There weren't many of them, maybe twelve or so, so it didn't take her long to finish with the copier before she set up each spot in the conference room next to her office. She used the word conference room very loosely; it was actually a room with a large circular table that could fit nine people comfortably, ten if everyone held their breath. It also served as the employee cafeteria.

She made sure each employee had their own copy of the schedule and detailed descriptions of each author that was coming to the store. They also each had a copy of her lesson plans for her reading and writing clubs. The first employee to join her was Maggie, followed by Heidi, and soon almost everyone was ready to go by 7:00 on the dot. Kate scrambled in ten minutes later, apologizing with a show of her hand.

"You know, the assistant manager shouldn't be showing up late to meetings," Bella chided jokingly, pointing to the last available seat at the table.

"Hey, you didn't have to listen to this guy bitch and moan for an hour about said meeting," Kate growled, pointing over to Liam who barely had his eyes opened. "Ten minutes is nothing compared to what I had to go through."

"Alright, alright. Let's get started, shall we?" Bella dismissed Kate with a smile and a wave of her hand and brought everyone's attention to the piles of papers in front of them." Did you all look over your information?" Kate held up her finger, indicating Bella to wait while she browsed through the contents.

"Got it," she said, placing the papers down in front of her. "You've scheduled our entire summer."

"Yes, I did. There were three reasons for that," she said. "First, I liked the idea of planning this far in advance. It allows us to fully prepare and educate ourselves with the content these authors are promoting; it gives us a chance to plan ahead for staffing situations. For example, you know we're going to have to double the staff here when that one author, Lance Bishop, stops by."

"You booked Lance Bishop?" Heidi asked dreamily. "He's so cute. I'm definitely pulling a double that day."

"Second," Bella said, ignoring Heidi's remark, "it gives us the opportunity for each of us to be assigned a certain responsibility. The more time one has to focus on a specific task allows for better quality work."

"Like what?" Liam asked. "I'm just a cashier. Am I going to be assigned to polish the pennies?"

"Pretty soon you're going to be polishing windshields down by the streetlight on Wilson Avenue," Kate retorted.

"No, but I am trying to have our customers see that we are all an efficient unified front," Bella paused for a moment before continuing. "I want you to know about these authors, Liam. I want to feel confident, as your boss, that when a customer comes up to you and talks to you about Lance Bishop, you respond like you have some knowledge on the subject, and I most assuredly don't want to hear you say that he hasn't been doing much since 'N Sync broke up."

"Isn't that Lance Bass?" A voice quipped from the other side of the table.

"Yes, but the point is that I would like you to know the difference between the two."

"It's so easy to tell the difference between them. They look absolutely nothing alike," Heidi defended.

"Okay, enough, you're all making me have flashbacks of the most awkward years of my life," Kate interrupted. "What's the third?"

"Third what?" Bella asked, taking her attention away from Liam and Heidi.

"You said you had three reasons for planning this all out. Thank you, by the way. Gives me more time to stare at the spin instructor from across the street. Have you seen his calf muscles?"

"Yes, three reasons. First, time to prepare and educate. Second, individualized responsibility. And third," Bella paused and stared Kate straight in the eyes, "I'll be taking the summer off to go take care of a few things across the country."

Liam let his head roll back, realizing that with Bella gone the shit could possibly just hit the fan. This meant he would actually have to work at the front desk instead of playing Solitaire. He kissed his summer goodbye.

Heidi and Maggie screeched simultaneously, eyes popping out of their heads, before beginning to bombard Bella with question after question.

Peter wondered if Lance Bishop could hook him up with his hot publicist.

Kate, meanwhile, remained in her seat, a slow smile beginning to beam proudly off of her face. She was proud of her best friend in every sense of the word. The smile disappeared once Bella told her that Kate would be in charge of it all.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Edward Cullen, is that you?!"

Ever hear a sound or a voice that makes the hair on the back of the neck stand straight up? It reminded him of fingernails on a chalkboard, or fingernails on an ice cube. It reminded him of when Emmett went to kick a soccer ball Edward was holding in front of his lap but missed and kicked him straight in the balls. He glanced over his shoulder to where the sound of the voice was coming from, and he wished he was sitting a little closer to the kitchen so he could throw himself into the oven at max temperature. The last thing he needed was a run in with -

"Jessica Stanley," he greeted when she got closer to him, "it's been a while." Not long enough.

"Too long," she gushed and threw her arms around him in a hug. She looked over at Alice and said hello, nothing like her greeting with Edward. "Mind if I join you for a minute? My table isn't ready yet." Edward wanted to tell her that yes, he did mind and that they were in fact, sitting at a crowded table for two already, but Jessica was too fast and grabbed an extra chair from the table next to theirs.

His day started off with him just missing the color of chestnut in his dream. Then he had his whole encounter with Emmett. Then a few long sessions of lessons, followed by an almost too real memory of him and Bella in the meadow, of which his arousal was evident, of which his sister may or may not have seen. Then an impromptu yet arranged dinner with Alice. Now Jessica fucking Stanley, Miss Teen Pep from high school. He wondered if his mother would be waiting for him at home with his clean laundry of tighty whities from when he was eight. Just one of those days where it just keeps getting worse.

"So, how've you been?" She reached over to touch his arm and he caught a glimpse of a shimmer coming from her left hand. She didn't let him answer. "I've been good - Mike finally popped the question! Can you believe it! She squealed, showing them both her hand. Edward and Alice nodded their appreciation.

"No, I can't believe it. Not at all," Edward said and finished the remainder of his drink. Alice shot him a look that clearly said he was being rude.

"So I hear you're a teacher now?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Right outside of Forks. Didn't want to teach in a high school where I spent my own four years of hell," he joked. He was trying. "Who wants to relive high school?"

"Not all of your high school years were bad," Alice spoke. "We had some really great times."

"Speaking of high school, you'll never guess what happened. I work over at the hospital, and Charlie Swan was admitted the other night. He was in some type of accident."

Before Alice could even restrain Edward in his seat, she looked over and all she saw was his napkin flickering to the floor, his chair in the process of tilting over to the side. Her eyes lifted from their table and she was just able to make out the back of a bronzed head flying out the front door of the restaurant.

He was gone, and she knew exactly where he was going.

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