Disclaimer – Stephenie Meyers owns all things Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

A special thanks goes out to my beta, shelikesthesound.

Chapter 7

Football

BPOV

I knew the phone call was from Edward even before I'd listened to it, and after I had, I knew I'd made the right decision to stay over at Alice's. Edward was still pissed, and I didn't need the added stress. My Aunt Cindy and Uncle George by marriage were somewhat reluctant to let me stay. They told Alice it wasn't their place to come between Edward and me if we'd had a fight, and Alice should stay out of the middle of it. I'd told them I'd just go to a hotel if it would be easier on them, and they finally consented to let me stay one night.

Alice and I had a good time. We hadn't had much girl time since I'd gotten married almost two years before, and we gave each other mani/pedi's. We didn't talk about the elephant in the room at all.

I'd gotten my books from the trunk of our car before we'd left school, so I did my homework. That night was the first time in ages, at least six or seven years, that I'd done my homework without Edward by my side. The tears started again when I sat down to do it, and Alice grabbed my hand and squeezed it. She instinctively knew what I was thinking.

After I'd lay down, I had a hard time falling asleep. I missed Edward's warm body next to mine. I missed his breathing. I even missed the noises he made when he rolled over during the night. Somehow, I knew I would be going back home the next day, fighting or not.

When the next morning arrived, I woke up sick to my stomach. My nausea medicine was at home, so I had to deal with it. Alice leant me some of her clothes, and we arrived at school after Edward did. The first thing I noticed was the dent in the car. Had he been in an accident? Was he okay?

I jumped out of the car and grabbed my books. I ran to my locker hoping to meet up with him, but he wasn't there. Then I went to our first period class, but he wasn't there, either. I didn't know where to look for him. The first bell rang and still no Edward. Where was he? As the second bell rang, he slid into the room, apologizing to Mrs. Sims for being late. He handed her a slip of paper, and, after she read it, she nodded and told him to take his seat. He came further into the room and sat down in the seat next to mine. He occupied himself with getting out his homework. I tried to get a good look at him, so I could see for myself that he was all right. I didn't see anything wrong with him, but he wouldn't look at me, so I didn't get a very good look at all.

When first period was over, he left the room as I was gathering my books. I followed him to AP Biology, and he wasn't walking as if he were hurt. We got to class, and he sat down before I got there. Once I sat down, I turned to talk to him, but he was talking to someone else on the football team. They were talking about some stupid play that Coach Davis had them working on. By the time Mrs. Briggs called the class to order, I didn't have time to speak to him.

When the bell rang for break, he again left me behind. I knew I would catch up with him at our area, so I took my time. I planned out what I was going to say to him. As I walked outside, I looked over to our area, and Jasper and Alice were there, but no Edward. I walked over to them.

"Where's Edward?" I asked.

"What do you mean? We thought you two were held up in class or something. He hasn't made it out, yet," Alice said. I looked at Jasper, and he wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Jasper, do you know where he is?" I asked.

"I'm not getting between you two. I'm not Alice. Edward didn't tell me where he was going, no," he said.

"What do you mean, 'You're not Alice?' That's not a nice thing to say. She was here for me when I needed her to be," I said. "I'm the one who asked her to let me spend the night, not the other way around."

"Wait, you didn't go home last night? No wonder he was so upset! How could you, Bella?" Jasper asked.

"Don't start in on her! You obviously don't know what they're fighting about, 'cause if you did, you'd understand why she didn't want to go home last night, Jasper Hale!" Alice said.

"What? Did he hurt you? Hit you?" Jasper asked. I shook my head. Edward would never raise a finger to hurt me, physically anyway. "Then there's nothing that could be so bad that you should've stayed away from your home. I know he didn't cheat on you."

"No he didn't, it's just that . . ." I said.

"No, don't tell me. He doesn't want me to know, and I respect his wishes in the matter. If he wanted me to know what you two were fighting about, he would've told me himself," Jasper said. "As it is, Alice you're in way over your head. I want you to step back and get a grip on reality. This is their problem to work out, and I don't want you to get involved."

"Who are you to tell me what to do and not to do Jasper Hale?" Alice asked, venom in her voice.

"I'm your fiance', and you getting in the middle is just making things worse for both of them. You girls and your gossip. That's all you do. No wonder he was so mad last night! I don't blame him for losing it!"

"What'd he do? Is he all right? I saw the car. Did he get into an accident?" I asked.

"No, he kicked in the door after getting off the phone with you, Bella," Jasper said.

"I didn't talk to him last night," I said.

"I did," Alice said. "I told him Bella didn't wanna talk to him and that she was staying over at my house."

"So now you've got his Uncle George and Aunt Cindy choosing sides against him. Way to go, Alice. Some cousin you've turned out to be," Jasper said. Then he turned and walked away.

"Jasper Hale, you get back here this minute!" Alice called out after him, but he just continued to walk away, not looking back. "Oh, I'm so not done with him! He's gonna be so sorry when I'm through with him! He's gonna think twice about walking away from me in the future!"

"Alice, don't you and Jasper start fighting because of Edward and me. It's so not worth it," I said. She shook her head.

"Where does he get off telling me who I can talk to, and who I can't? Who does he think he is? Just because Edward wants to stay tight lipped about what's going on, doesn't mean that you can't vent to your best friend, does it? He's jealous, that's all! He just wishes that Edward and he were as close as you and I are! That's all!"

"Well, at least I know Edward is all right. I just wish I knew where he is," I said. The bell rang for the end of morning break, and we made our way inside to our government class. Edward made it in just before the tardy bell rang, and again, he refused to look at me. I tried to take notes, but the scare I'd had that morning, that he might have been hurt, had brought me at least partway back to wanting to speak with him, but he was having none of that.

During AP English, I heard his voice live for the first time in two days when he was called on to answer a question. I thought his answer was well thought out. He'd obviously not been too upset to do his homework the night before. All I had to do was make it through the period, and I'd be able to try to talk to him at lunch.

When the bell rang, I hurriedly gathered my books and took them to my locker. He was beside me, but he wouldn't look at me. Once he'd gotten his books put up, instead of heading towards the cafeteria, he went towards Jasper's locker. They spoke for a couple of seconds, and then they turned and walked the opposite direction of the cafeteria. I didn't know what to do, so I decided to follow them. I trailed them to the field house where they went inside. They stayed there for about ten minutes, and then they came outside dressed in their practice clothes. They went out onto the football field, and Edward started throwing the ball to Jasper. Coach Davis came outside to watch them, giving them some instruction along the way, and with about ten minutes until the next class, he called them in.

"Good work-out boys. Those scouts are really gonna like the things you two are working on. I'm sure you two are gonna get picked up. You two need to start thinking about where you wanna play your college careers," he said.

"I don't know, Coach. There's so much going on right now," Edward said.

"Remember, my door is always open, Cullen. When you're ready to talk about it instead of taking it out on your car, let me know," Coach Davis said.

"Will do, Coach. Thanks for the pointers this morning. I think we've got this new route down. We can try it with the team this afternoon," Edward said.

"If I don't bench you for losing it again," Coach Davis said.

"Yeah, if you don't bench me," Edward said, laughing. Then they went into the field house.

I went back to the cafeteria and told Alice where I'd been. She was upset that both of the guys had skipped out on us without even telling us where they'd be. I was upset, too, but at least they were playing football. They could've been getting into much worse trouble.

When the bell rang, we went to Spanish. Again, he refused to even look at me, but in AP Chemistry, he was forced not only to look at me, but to speak to me as we were lab partners, and we had a lab today. His answers to my questions were short and to the point, but he was speaking to me. When lab was over and we'd cleaned off our space, he went back to his seat as if nothing had changed. After the bell rang for us to go to afternoon break, I was sure that he would go straight to football, but I needed to talk to him. So when he went to get up from his seat, I grabbed his arm.

"Edward, wait a minute, would you?" I asked. He looked at my hand on his arm and shrugged it off. Then he walked out of the room to our lockers. I followed him. "Edward, I need to talk to you, please," I said. He stopped at his locker and put his head against it.

"What do you want, Bella? You didn't wanna talk to me last night, remember?" he asked.

"I need the keys to the car. I have to go get my blood drawn today, remember?" I asked. "I figured you were going straight to football, and I wouldn't get another chance to ask you." He reached into his pocket, pulled out the keys, and handed them to me.

"Will you be coming back, or does Jasper need to take me home?" he asked.

"I'll come back. It's just a blood draw," I said. "There's no reason for you to worry about coming with me."

"I didn't say I wanted to come with you. I asked you if I needed a ride home. Are you bringing the car back, or are you going home? Or are you going to Alice's again?" he asked.

"I'll bring the car back to you. I planned on coming home tonight, if that was okay with you," I said.

"Whatever you want, Bella. Whatever you want. My wishes don't matter to you in the least bit anyway, so do whatever you want," he said, and he turned and walked away.

"Edward, don't say that," I called to his back as he walked down the hallway. Several of the students stopped walking and talking to look at the two of us as he walked away from me. I reached up to wipe the tears from my eyes and turned back around to my locker, laying my head against it.

"Don't worry about it. He'll come around in time. You're having a baby together. You know he'll be back to himself in no time," Alice said, putting her arm around my shoulders. "Did you wanna come back over tonight?"

"Yes, but I can't. It'll just piss him off worse, and I don't need that drama right now. I have to go. I have to get my blood drawn this afternoon. Have you spoken to Jasper?" I asked.

"No. He's gone to football practice. Would you at least stay until break is over? I don't wanna be alone," Alice said.

"Yeah, I'll stay. I'm gonna check out after break, though. I'm not needed at cheerleading, and I'll be back by the end of school. You're not staying over this afternoon, are you?"

"Nope. We're taking the afternoon off. Are you staying?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna watch the scrimmage. I'll have plenty of time to think about things."

We'd walked outside to our regular spots, just Alice and me, and we were still talking. "You know, Alice, I still don't understand why he doesn't understand I'm grieving for the one that we lost. I feel as if a part of me is gone, even if we don't have anything to bury. I lost that baby just like I lost Victoria, and he isn't even seeing it like that. What can I do to show him that it was a baby, too?"

"I don't know, Bella. I know Rosalie never really mourned the baby she lost. She was relieved she wasn't pregnant anymore, and she got over it pretty quickly. I know she doesn't think of it as a baby. She never really saw it that way. She was just scared shitless and was afraid someone would find out besides us, like hers or my parents. She was thankful she miscarried."

"Maybe it has something to do with Victoria. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I already know what it is to be pregnant and lose a baby, to have one born dead."

"Maybe it does. I don't know, but it's obvious Edward doesn't feel the same as you. He's focusing on the one that you are carrying."

"But then he yelled at me for quitting cheerleading. If he's so worried about this baby, I would think he'd be okay with me quitting. He just wants me on that stupid bus with him." I had started crying again.

"Bella, I don't believe that for a second. Edward is excited for this baby. All you had to do was read it in his eyes. He wouldn't want you to do anything that would jeopardize it."

"Then why did he yell at me?"

"I don't know? Maybe he's under a lot of pressure, too." The bell rang, and I gave Alice a big hug. Then I picked up my books and headed to the office to check out.

I replayed mine and Alice's conversation during the ride to the doctor's office. I didn't know why Edward was so upset. It didn't make sense to me. I wasn't doing anything but protecting our living baby and grieving for our dead one. Why couldn't he see that? Why couldn't he support me?

Once I got to the doctor's office, they called me right back and drew my blood. Dr. Bush told me to come back on Friday afternoon for another blood draw, and I told her okay. She said she would be in touch with the results of this one, probably tomorrow afternoon. I told her about quitting cheerleading, and she said she thought it was a good idea.

I drove back to school and went to the football stands to watch the practice. Edward and Jasper were working hard to get their new play to work. I just sat there, watching. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Edward was shaking me awake.

"Come on. It's time to go," he said. I got up from the stands and followed him to the field house. I stood by the tree while he got dressed, and when he came out, we walked to the car. He opened my door for me, and I got in.

He got in and started the car. "How'd practice go?" I asked.

"All right."

"You and Jasper working on a new play?"

"Yes."

"We've really got a lot of homework, don't we?"

"Look, Bella. You didn't come home last night. I haven't forgiven you for that. I'm not up for small talk."

"Edward, I was hurting, and you didn't care. At least Alice cared."

"Damn it, Bella, I cared. I'm your husband, for God's sake. Of course I cared. I may not understand it, but I care. You, on the other hand, you go and start making decisions without talking to me about them, and then you spend the night away from home. What am I supposed to do, Bella? Just forget it? We're supposed to be a team, and when we have our first fight, you run away!"

"I didn't run away. I just needed some space to think."

"That's bullshit, Bella! You've been spilling your gut to Alice, and you run into her arms at the first sign of a problem. Who are you closer to, me or her?"

"You, of course! Why would you even ask me that?"

"Because, you've told her everything! You've told her all of it! It's our life, Bella! Yours and mine. I haven't told Jasper or Coach Davis or even Dad, even though all of them are there for me. It's our problem, yours and mine! Not Alice's."

"But she understands where I'm coming from, and you don't! You don't even seem to be trying! You just say there's nothing to grieve over and to get over it!"

"I never told you to get over it! I just don't see why you're so upset. We've got to get our act together and keep this baby healthy, and getting upset like this isn't helping." Just then, a siren and flashing lights came on in the rearview mirror. "Shit!" Edward pulled over to the side of the road.

"Where's the fire, Edward?" the police chief, my father, asked as he came up to the car.

"No fire, Charlie. I just wasn't paying attention to the speedometer," Edward said.

"It looked like you and Bella were having quite a conversation. Is everything okay?" my dad asked.

"Yes, Sir, everything's just fine. Just having a little spat. We need to talk to you soon, though" I said leaning over Edward's shoulder.

"Okay, let's see if you can get home without breaking the sound barrier, Edward, okay?" Dad said.

"Yes, Sir. Sorry about that," Edward said.

"Oh, what happened to the car?" Dad asked. "I didn't hear about any fender benders."

"Well, I got a little upset and kicked it," Edward said. "Don't worry, it's fixable."

"On your budget? What's going on between the two of you? Do I need to be worried about my little girl?" Dad asked.

"Of course not. I'd never hurt her," Edward said. "I'm not the one who's hurt her."

"Well, you two get home," Dad said.

"Yes, Sir," Edward said. "Bye, Charlie." We drove off and made it home without any further incidents.