True Love Way

Chapter 6

Aro was correct – medication was mandatory. As much as I loathed the whole idea of it, there was nothing I could do. This time began similar to the other time I was forced to medicate. The side effects started immediately. I was jumpy. Constantly on edge. My hands shook uncontrollably, and I had trouble sleeping. My appetite was gone, and I had my mother pushing one dish after another on me, pleading with me to eat anything.

After the first few weeks, the tremors stopped, and my body wanted to catch up on all the sleep I'd lost. That's all I wanted to do. I even fell asleep in class on two occasions. A couple of weeks of that, and they upped my dosage. Things seemed to settle down. I was much calmer, but didn't feel sedated. I was able to discuss my bouts of anger rationally with Aro, and he was very pleased with the results. I had to admit, I was pleasantly surprised as well. I made it through the last term of high school, and graduation, without further issue. My grades even went up. It inspired me to start looking through college brochures to see if there was anything at all I'd be interested in – if I could even get into a school this late.

Bella left us at the end of July. There were recollections of laughter and many tears, as well as promises to keep in touch regularly – all of us. Jasper took her to the airport on his own and returned looking more distraught than I'd ever seen him.

"Love sucks, man." He grumbled when he collapsed beside me on my bed. "I don't know how I'm gonna do this."

I'd had both my malachite stone and lemonade cap out when he'd barged in. I quickly palmed them and shoved them into my pocket. "You'll get through it. She loves you." I almost choked on those words of truth. I hoped he didn't notice.

He smiled over at me. "She really does. I'm thinking of surprising her… maybe at Thanksgiving? Mom will be pissed that I'm not here, but I can't wait until winter break to see her."

"I'm jealous. You'll get to meet the fantastic Gran." I made my confession seem like I was joking, but truly, I wasn't. At all.

"I wanted to go with her now, spend a few weeks together before school, but Rosalie talked me out of it."

"I think Bella wanted some quality time with her family now, while she still has the chance. You have forever to make up the lost time."

Jasper chuckled beside me.

"What?" I prodded him with my elbow when he didn't respond.

"Nothing… it's just… Bella always said that I should be more like you… thoughtful. I guess I see her point. You're right. I wish I could be as patient as you are. I can't look ahead that way. I just live in the moment, and this moment sucks ass."

I snickered with him. "I've had a lifetime of moments that sucked ass. Get used to it. I don't feel sorry for you in the least."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Nope. I do feel sorry for Bella." I turned my head to taunt him further. "Having to spend all this time with you must have really sucked ass."

"Shut up, dickwad." Jasper jabbed me in the stomach, but he was grinning at me. "Emmett's doing a Mexican night at his place later on – you coming?"

I thought of Bella's final moments with me when she pleaded with me to stick to the social events with my siblings and tell her all about them. I nodded. "Yeah. I'll be there."

He left to shower as I laid there thinking about his remark: 'Bella always said I should be more like you.' If only I could be more like Jazz, maybe I'd have a girl like Bella of my own.

Fuck that. There was no other girl for me. My heart belonged to Bella, and she'd never even know it.

~ 0 ~

The next day, I was in the kitchen poring over the want-ads in case I couldn't enrol for any courses in the fall. Emmett had arrived early on his day off to help my mother move a giant decorative rock in the garden. He and Jasper moved it back two feet. It looked exactly the same to me, but Mom was thrilled by the change. Apparently, it made all the difference in 'curbside appeal'. Whatever.

"Ed! Wanna come for a ride with me?" Emmett grabbed an OJ from the fridge and plunked down across from me at the table. "I have to go pick up the rest of Alice's stuff from home. Give me a hand?"

I looked up at him, mystified. "Me? Wouldn't Jasper be more useful for moving stuff?"

He chuckled, downing his juice in one gulp. "You and I can handle it. Come on. It'll only take a few hours. I'll even buy you lunch."

"Okaaaay…" I tidied up the newspaper and went to grab my phone and keys. Then I returned for my Bella pieces. The stone had managed to get itself wedged inside the lemonade cap, combining the two. I had a feeling I'd need an extra boost of confidence for our outing. I'd been spending more time with all of them lately, and I was comfortable with Emmett, but I'd never been alone with him for hours before. I had no idea where this had come from.

We talked about random stuff on the way to his parents' house. I met his mom. She was… not what I expected. Emmett clearly got his height from her – she was a tall woman, with a lot of curves. Curves that were accentuated by her clinging spandex outfit. I found my eyes jumping all over the place in an attempt not to stare. She didn't look like anyone's mother.

"You're wondering why my sister doesn't look a thing like my mom, right?" Emmett asked with a grin when we were alone in Alice's room. I had to admit, it had crossed my mind. "She's my half-sister. Dad had an affair during a convention or something. The woman dropped Alice on our doorstep when she was a couple of months old."

My mouth hung open. "Does Alice know?"

"Sure. It's never been a secret. Mom wouldn't let him off that easy." Emmett's grin didn't match how I'd feel about that situation if it were my life. "I told you my family is messed up. They fight a lot. But they treat me and Alice exactly the same."

"Does Alice ever see her mom?"

"Nope. Never. It's just like how you are with Esme and Carlisle – they're the only parents she's ever known. And I'm her brother. Period. And we've both suffered with the same shitty parents."

I gained a little understanding as to why Emmett had accepted me into his life exactly as he had Jasper. "And you'd help your sister out of it, no matter what," I stated.

"You got it! She's making herself at home as we speak. Dad's forking over some extra funds, so it won't be a hardship for me taking her in. I never accepted any money from him when I left. It wasn't easy, but I feel a lot better doing it on my own. Alice is already looking for a job, too, so it won't set me back. I've decided to go for paramedic training, too. Did Rose tell you?"

I shook my head, completely in awe of him.

"Yeah, it'll open up more jobs down the road if I have that. EMT/firefighters are in higher demand. Plus, I'll understand what the hell Rose is talking about when we study Bio together."

My sister had decided to go into medicine. Our folks were thrilled, and I was really proud of her. She definitely had the brains for it, as well as the nurturing heart for the job.

"All right, the only big thing left is the mattress. We should take that out to the truck before her fifty boxes of shit."

He wasn't kidding. Boxes lined an entire wall of her packed-up room, nearly to the ceiling. We struggled with angling the mattress and box spring around all the corners of the house. "Why does such a small person need such a large bed?" I grumbled when we wedged it in a doorway after getting it down the stairs.

"I ask myself the same thing. She used to do gymnastics on it when she was a kid. I'm serious. She's always had a massive bed. Okay, you tilt it back your way, and I'll tug from this end. Got it?" He even groaned, tossing it into his truck. "God help the dude she ends up marrying someday. Princess Alice and the pea."

I laughed along with him. He was so good-natured towards everything that would irritate anyone else. Alice would indeed find it difficult to get a guy like her brother. "Is she seeing anyone?"

"You interested?" Emmett's head popped out around the mattress, peering at me from the flatbed.

"No!" I laughed. I wanted to say 'hell, no,' but she was his sister.

"Shit. It would make it smoother if you were. Have you noticed her little crush on Jasper?"

I frowned. "Um, I can't say that I have. I don't think she says two words when he's around."

"Exactly! That's how I know! She doesn't shut up for a minute otherwise, and the minute he shows up, she's all… 'gah, gah, uh, gaaaah.'"

I howled at his imitation.

"I was hoping you'd be interested in getting her mind off a taken man."

"Sorry, dude. I'm not the guy for this task."

He waved his hand at me. "Probably better anyway. You don't want someone who's making eyes at your brother. That would suck. Shall we go kick a few boxes down the stairs?" He rubbed his hands together excitedly, but in the end treated each box with gentle care. The irony of his comment kept me in silence throughout our task. He had no idea just how much that sucked.

Over lunch, he broached another subject. "Have you ever thought of taking the paramedic program? Rosalie tells me you're great with science, too. You could sign up with me. We'll have study sessions and you two can get me through it."

I chortled, picking at my fries. "It would be funny to treat myself."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have more need for a paramedic's service than ability to be a paramedic. There's just no way. That's just… laughable."

He dropped the subject for the time being but didn't entirely let it go. One day later in the week, he showed up at the house and asked me to go for another ride with him.

"Are you bored, Emmett? Working fulltime isn't enough for you during the summer?" I teased him once I was in his truck.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did Rosalie ask you to pal around with me or something? You're taking me while she handles your sister? You really don't have to entertain me, you know."

He shot me a look as he drove. "Rose didn't ask me to do anything. For your information, I like hanging out with you. And I don't particularly want to be around a closet organization day at my place, thank you."

I smirked. "Ah, I'm your out for the big event."

"I wanted to hit the gym. The school opens it up during certain hours for students to use the facilities over the summer. Not many of us use it… they won't mind that I brought a friend."

I almost choked. "The gym? Seriously? Me? At a gym? Em… I don't think that's a good idea. At least not until you're trained and know how to set a fractured fibula."

"How would you break your leg in a gym?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Very easily. You have no idea."

"Dude, come on. I'll set you up with a real simple starter program. It'll be good, you'll see."

It wasn't merely the thought of the equipment that scared me off, it was the knowledge that there would likely be people of Emmett's stature and ability in there, just waiting to laugh at the tubby, out of shape guy who'd obviously never seen the inside of a gym.

It turned out that Emmett was right. We were alone – not another soul in the entire facility. The stationary bike seemed harmless, so after he loaned me some workout clothes and we changed, I gave it a go.

"See? That didn't kill you." Emmett teased me in a friendly manner after he finished his own workout. "Come on over here, and I'll show you some good toning drills. Paramedics need strong backs."

"I'm sure they do," I responded. "Lifting guys like me into the back of the ambulance isn't an easy job."

He rolled his eyes at me. "You're like those anorexic chicks who see themselves as fat. I've seen your old pictures, and yeah, you were a little porker for a while there."

I made a face at him, and he slapped my chest, wearing his big grin.

"You just need some toning, dude. Cardio and toning. I can get you in shape by the end of summer."

That was worth a laugh, but somehow I accepted his challenge. Not only that, I ended up enrolled in his paramedic course for the fall. Pounds fell off, and muscle – actual muscle – appeared. I found the classes engrossing, having had so much experience with a lot of the emergency situations they were preparing us for, and I did well with the work involved.

Outside of school, I spent a lot of time Rosalie and Emmett at his apartment. Alice flitted in and out too. She was a little whirlwind, working as a waitress weekends and some evenings, and then there were her drama nights. She had found another class to explore her creative side while she worked on her paralegal course during the day. It was good that she had so many outlets for her energy. She soon got over her shyness with Jasper, too. She wasn't that talkative Energizer Bunny/Smurfette that we met in the spring. She was much happier, confident and calmer living with her brother.

Jasper had decided to follow in our father's footsteps and pursue a career in law. In an attempt to miss Bella a little less, he threw himself into his school work. He was at the top in every class. Still, we sometimes managed to get him to join us for movie nights or the odd concert. Alice and I had similar taste in music, and Jasper was used to my indie shit. We never went bowling. No one even suggested it. It seemed wrong without Bella. That was her thing.

Bella and I exchanged e-mails regularly and even had a few phone conversations. I didn't know, and didn't want to know, how often she and Jazz were in contact. We didn't talk about him. Apparently, they didn't talk about Alice. Bella had no idea that she was with us for a few of the concerts we talked about. I didn't keep anything from her – well, except for the fact that I still dreamt about her regularly and the whole thing about being in love with her.

We did a conference call with her one night when we gathered at Emmett's for Chinese take-out. It was almost like having her there. Almost. I missed seeing her smile and goofy socks in person. They visited me frequently in my thought, however. My siblings and Emmett jeered at us when we broke into a conversation about the release of the first Harry Potter movie near the end of the call. Bella had seen it and was trying to convince me to go check it out.

"Seriously Edward, you should ask Alice to go with you," Rosalie commented after the call as the teasing wound up. Luckily, Alice was still at work or it would have been even more awkward. "She's been dying to go. You should see it together!"

"Maybe…" Would that be too date-like? I had never attended a movie with just one girl.

"I know she's not working Saturday night," Emmett remarked.

Jasper jumped in. "That would be too much like a date." All eyes turned to him. "I just mean that it's a typical date night, or whatever."

"So, what if it was a date?" Rosalie challenged. "Edward's allowed to date."

"It would just be weird, that's all." He quickly gathered up his empty containers and stood.

Emmett scoffed. "Dude, why would that be weird? Something wrong with my sister?"

I swear blood flushed into my brother's cheeks as he backtracked. "No! Of course not! It's just… she's like family. It would be incestuous."

"Bella's like family, too." Leave it to my sister to bring her up again.

"That's different."

A small argument broke out, and I escaped to the washroom to avoid it. Jasper was leaving when I came out, and I took a ride home with him.

"Ed… you're not… interested in Alice, are you?"

Something about the way he asked drew me back to the day he'd asked the same of Bella. "No. Why? Are you?" My heart thumped in my chest. Surely my brother wouldn't go after another girl. He wasn't a cheater. Was he?

He laughed and blew my question off. The subject changed and wasn't brought up again, but it left me with a very bad feeling. He hadn't made the trip over Thanksgiving to see Bella. Did that mean something else besides a hectic schedule at school? I knew my brother better than anyone, and I had never thought of him as a guy who would cheat. I convinced myself that I was right about that. He wouldn't do that. I was just being over-protective of Bella. That had to be it. I even managed to convince myself that my urge to protect Bella wasn't borne out of my wrongful love for her – she was like family. I would feel the same way if I thought Emmett was interested in someone else, too. I suddenly trusted Emmett a hell of a lot more than my own brother, and I felt horrible about that.

~ 0 ~

I felt slightly better about my brother, and slightly worse for doubting him, when he took off the day after Christmas to go see Bella. Of course I was jealous that he'd get to spend days with her – and nights – but she really needed it. When I'd talked to her on Christmas Eve, she'd sounded more down than I'd ever heard. It probably didn't help that her mom decided to gift herself a vacation for the holidays. While Bella tended to her ailing grandmother, Renee was sunning herself in Mexico. Nice.

Whatever had happened over Christmas, Bella seemed to be perked up, and Jasper returned to moping around missing her. We began exchanging daily emails. I got my fix of Bella in whatever way I could. I was elated when she told me she planned to come home over Easter break. It wasn't even a week, and she'd be spending half of her time with her dad, but I'd take it.

As it turned out, her trip got cancelled. Gran had taken a nasty fall and was in the hospital. Bella just didn't feel right leaving her. Jasper was more moody than I'd ever seen him. I didn't know what disappointed me more – the fact that I wouldn't get to see her or that my brother was so angry with her decision to stay with her grandmother. Why couldn't he see how important she was to Bella? Did family mean that little to him? Maybe he just took it for granted since he saw us every day. There lay the biggest difference between us – more than our looks or abilities – I never took a thing about my family for granted.

We got the news that Gran had died just three weeks later. I couldn't offer my condolences properly in an email, so I called Bella. She was a mess over it. We spent almost an hour together, and she thanked me for listening to it all. We even had a chuckle over the idea of me flying down there. I loathed air travel. My entire family would have to go with me and be miserable all the way. I would do that for Bella, though. After hanging up, I had an idea.

"We should surprise Bella by heading down there. I don't know if we'll make it for the funeral if we left after class on Friday, but we can at least be there for her after."

Rose agreed heartily. "One helluva road trip, but I'm in!"

Jasper was more hesitant. "I can't go on Friday."

"Why not?" Both of us questioned our brother together.

"The whole weekend is bad. My final presentation is on Monday. I've got to work on it."

I had a feeling there was more to it than that, but it wasn't confirmed until Thursday. Rosalie came down with a stomach bug – a nasty one that had her running back and forth to the toilet all night. Even if it calmed down, she would be too weak for that kind of excursion. I pleaded with Jasper to change his mind.

"Come on, man. I'll do most of the driving. You can work on it in the car."

"There's still no guarantee that we'd be back Monday morning. Anything could happen. And if I miss it, I'm screwed. All my work for the term will be for nothing."

"I swear on a stack of bibles, I'll have you back by Monday morning." I even sweetened the deal. "I'll even do all of the driving on the way back. You can rehearse and sleep, and not worry about anything."

Jasper sighed at me. "See, it's not just the presentation – it's leaving Friday night, too. I have this thing to go to… and if we left later, we'd just get there and have to turn around and come back. It's pointless."

"Jazz, Bella's really vulnerable right now. What could be happening Friday night that's more important?"

He turned away from me, sighing heavily once more. "Okay, here's the thing… I've been taking a night class, just for fun. You know how I was always interested in drama in high school."

"Drama class? That's what's more important than Bella?" He couldn't be serious.

"Don't judge me, Edward. It's not becoming."

Jasper only called me by my full name when he was pissed off. Regardless, I didn't back down. "Sorry, but that just seems really lame. I don't think it will affect your career as a lawyer to miss one drama class for a funeral."

"It's not just a class." Jasper's face told me he was angered by me challenging him this way, but his voice remained calm. "We've been working on the show for weeks. The performance is on Friday."

I scoffed at him. "Yeah, Jazz. I can tell this is something really important to you. Wonder why you've never mentioned this once? We've never missed anything you've been in – plays, ballgames… whatever. Why haven't we heard about this?"

"I started the class late, and I never thought to mention it. If I bail now, I'll be letting Alice down."

Ah, that would explain it. "Letting Alice down," I repeated.

"Yeah. We've been working on it together. She won't be able to perform if I'm not there."

Of all the lame excuses! I was livid. "Would that be catastrophic in the grand scheme of things? Really? Would she fall apart and crumble because you didn't perform together in front of a drama club? What the hell, Jasper? Someone very important to your girlfriend just died, and you're more concerned about a stupid play?"

"It's a skit. We're doing individual or paired skits, not one whole play. And I'm not deserting Bella – I've talked to her every day since Gran died."

I threw my hands up in the air. "That makes all the difference then, doesn't it? Unbelievable!"

"Look, Edward, we discussed this two days ago. You were fine with me not going then. The only thing that's changed is that Rosalie can't go. That's the only reason you're all hot for me to go now. Take Emmett, if you're so determined to still make the trip. That's my only suggestion."

"Well I have one for you, too," I muttered as I stormed out of his room. "Get over yourself, asshole." He had no appreciation for what he had. He didn't deserve Bella. I was seeing a whole new side to him that I wasn't exactly fond of – my brother could turn on and off affections according to proximity. How could he care more about letting Alice down than Bella? Ugh!

~ 0 ~

Friday morning, I loaded my car and said goodbye. I planned to skip my last class of the day to get a good start on the drive, but I had to attend the morning class. Leaving early, I figured I may even make it for the funeral. I hadn't asked Emmett to come along. I was more determined than ever to do what was right for Bella on my own. It was one hellish drive, though. When I pulled into a service station in Phoenix to get myself where I needed to be, I was already not looking forward to repeating it on Sunday.

"This was a really stupid idea, Cullen," I mumbled to myself in the car. I was parked in front of Gran's house. "She doesn't want me here. She wants Jasper. Or maybe she doesn't want anyone. Maybe she just wants to be with her family." I groaned and dropped my head to the steering wheel. "So stupid. I should just turn around and go back." I peeked over at the house again. There were a dozen or more cars parked on the street in front of it, and the driveway was full. "She'll think this is stupid. But if she finds out I was all the way here and didn't go in… I know Jazz would tell her. He'd do that just because I pissed him off by coming here when he wouldn't. I should go in. Just say hi. And offer condolences to the family. And then… drive home. All twenty-plus hours… oh my god, this was such a crazy thing to do!"

Taking a deep breath, I popped a mint in my dry mouth and checked my reflection. Hair's a disaster – what else is new? I tried to flatten it out – smooth it back. It didn't want to go back. It flopped down on my forehead at a weird angle, so I tugged on it a bit to make it return to how it had been before my quick-fix attempt. I squeezed my eyes shut, giving myself one last moment to either run for it, or move towards the house. As if my body reacted on its own, my hand reached out and pulled on the door handle. My legs turned themselves out of the opened door, and my feet planted on the cement. I stood and without allowing myself another conscious thought, strode boldly towards the front door of Gran's.

A small girl opened the door, looking up at me quizzically. "You're late!"

"Excuse me?" Her boldness took me by surprise.

"Most of the food is gone. Mommy's making some sandwiches though."

I smiled at the little doorman… doorgirl. "Did you get enough to eat?"

She nodded, curly pigtails bobbing at the sides of her head. "I spilled my juice though."

My eyes were drawn down to the red stain on her blue dress. "That's too bad. A waste of good juice."

The girl stared up at me with a scowl. She didn't get my humour.

"I'm looking for Bella. Is she here?"

Without a response to me, she turned and ran inside the house, screaming, "Mommy! There's a man here for Bella!"

I puffed my chest out a bit. I'd never been called 'a man' before. My bravado fell when a dark-haired woman came to the door. The first thing I noticed about her was the stripes of colour throughout her hair. There were at least three different shades. It just looked… striped. And odd. "Can I help you?"

My shoulders slumped and my voice faltered as I responded. "I'm a friend of Bella's."

"It's not really a good time." Her hand was already on the door, a sure sign that I was not welcome.

"I know. I just thought…" One hand went nervously through my hair, while the other frantically sought out my pocket talisman. "I came a long way. I just thought she'd want to know that we're thinking of her a lot right now. If you could just let her know –"

"Oh!" The woman's eyes lit up and she smiled broadly. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking… I know just who you are, and of course she'd want to see you. Come in, come in!" She held the door open widely for me now. "I'll just go tell Bella you're here. She'll be thrilled!"

I was stunned by the rapid turn-around in the greeting. I obeyed, and stepped inside, hovering near the door.

"Bella!" she bellowed as she ran up the steps. "Bella! Honey, your boyfriend's here!"

Oh! Oh, Jesus, no… "Uh, no! No! I'm not…" The woman disappeared before I could clarify. Just fucking great.

Bella came thundering down with anticipation. She froze only momentarily when she spotted me. "Edward!" She threw her arms around my neck, kissing my check. "Oh my god, I've missed you! So much! You can't imagine! What are you doing here?" The whole time she was peppering my face with kisses. Her reaction was… unexpected… but pleasing none the less. "Where's Jasper?"

My elation vanished as her grip on me loosened. "Um… he's not here. He couldn't make it. We had it all planned – all three of us – but… It's just me. Sorry."

Her hands dropped from my neck, and I instantly felt a chill from their absence. I could barely breathe staring into her dark eyes. "Don't be sorry, Edward," she whispered. She fell against me, this time her arms around my waist with her head nestled against my chest. "I'm so glad you're here."

Neither of us said anything for several minutes. I simply held her, and she clung to me like a lifeline. I couldn't believe how good it felt to have her in my arms. I hoped it was giving her as much comfort as she was providing me. Never had I been more pleased with a decision I'd made.

The mistaken woman reappeared in my vision, and I looked up, dropping my hands from Bella's waist. Bella didn't move. I felt her hands grab onto the back of my shirt, fisting the fabric as though she was afraid I'd disappear. "Bella, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Mom, this is my… Edward." Her voice was weak and muffled against my chest. Her hands kept opening and closing against my shirt. "My Edward," she repeated with a tiny snort. I couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying. When her hands finally released the back of my shirt, it was only for a moment. She moved them to the front, grabbing two new fistfuls as she looked up at me. There were tears pooled in her eyes. It broke my heart.

"Well, invite your friend in. My goodness, you came a long way, didn't you?"

I tried to find indicators that this woman had given birth to Bella, but it was difficult. There was none of Bella's warmth in her eyes. She didn't emit that sense of calm that Bella natural put out for me. Their hair may have been similar at one time, but this older woman clearly liked playing with colour, so I couldn't tell.

"Yes, ma'am. I thought Bella could use a friend right now."

A clear sob came from the girl in my arms. I pulled her closer to me without a thought, but instantly released her when she gave me a shove backwards. Thinking I'd upset her, I felt panic rush through me. I didn't know what the hell I was doing here with her. I had no idea how to offer her comfort, and truly, I wasn't the person she wanted comfort from. She reached behind me awkwardly, pulling on the handle of the front door. It slammed into me as she tugged it open.

"Sorry!" Her hand was on my chest again. "So sorry. Mom, Edward and I are taking a walk." She didn't wait for acknowledgement as I stepped aside to let her open the door fully this time. She grabbed my arm, and I followed her outside – as if I had a choice.

Gripping my arm with two hands, she propelled us across the street and down another street that branched off. All without saying a word. She was trembling when we finally stopped near a small park. "I can't believe you came. Why didn't you call from the airport? I would have picked you up. I hate this part – people are just milling around, looking for food and drink. I don't even know half of them, and I sure don't feel like talking to them. I would have loved the chance to go get you."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I drove," I quipped with a grin.

Stepping in front of me, she frowned as though she didn't understand. "You drove from where?"

"Forks."

Her jaw dropped. "You drove all the way from Forks? Oh my god, Edward! That had to take you… I don't even know how long that would take!"

"Approximately 21 hours, if I'd had an alternate driver. I had to pull into a rest stop for some sleep though. Wasted hours. That's why I missed the funeral. I'm sorry."

She still looked dazed. "You drove on your own from Forks?"

"I couldn't fly – definitely not on my own – so I had no choice." It seemed rational in my head, but when it came out, I just sounded stupid. She had to think I was an idiot. Her big brown eyes were staring at me intently, even as they filled with tears.

"You drove for over a day just to be here with me?"

I nodded shyly, feeling very stupid. And outted. She had to think one of two things: I was a complete moron, or I was totally in love with her. In reality, both were correct.

"Oh… my god, Edward," she whispered, closing her eyes as the tears flooded out. Her wet lashes splayed across her cheeks. "This is… it's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done." She clung to me once more, just as she had in the entryway of Gran's house. "Thank you," she whispered into my chest. She repeated it over and over as the sobs finally came with her tears. Suddenly, I felt less stupid and more needed – more wanted – than ever.

"You must be exhausted, Edward. Let's get you home."

Her voice surprised me. I had been frozen in time, revelling in the feeling of being just what the girl of my dreams needed at the moment. Okay, she probably needed my brother more, but the cold hard truth was that it was my arms she was in. Whether or not Jasper's excuses were valid, he had chosen not to come and support Bella. It took me another moment to comprehend what her words meant.

"You want me to leave?" I asked softly. "Now?" I hadn't thought the drive back would be so soon – okay, I had just before my body had rebelled and went straight to the front door. After Bella's greeting, I didn't think I could do it. I couldn't leave her just yet.

She sniffled loudly following a snicker. "You're so silly. Where would you go?"

"Home," I responded truthfully. "To Forks."

Reaching up, she swept my hair out of my eyes gently. "Right now, home is Gran's. She would adore you. You're coming home with me to Gran's."

I'm certain I looked like the biggest goof walking beside this beautiful girl when I felt like I should be floating. It must have been the exhaustion from the long drive. I hadn't ever thought of myself as sounding gay, even in my head. Geeky, yes. Gay, not so much.

Inside, Bella took me straight to the kitchen where her aunt, Kate, fixed me a fresh sandwich and Bella opened me a Coke before dishing out portions of various salads. It was obvious that the little girl who'd initially greeted me was Kate's – they were identical, aside from the pigtails. Tanya sat beside me at the table, staring at me so raptly it was freaking me out.

"Are you married?"

Bella laughed as she slid some silverware in front of me. "He's not married, honey. He's my age!"

"Oh. Can I marry you?"

My eyes shot to Bella for help. She smiled and winked at me, encouraging me to continue my banter with her cousin. "Um… I don't think your mom would like that very much," I responded as seriously as I could manage. "You should probably finish school first."

"Why do you wear those?" Her finger poked at my glasses, leaving a smudge where she touched.

Laughing, I removed them, using the bottom of my shirt to clean them. "Because I can't see without them." I reached out in front of me, grasping at air over the table. "Tanya? Tanya, where did you go?"

She giggled beside me. "I'm right here. Can I wear them?"

"Sure. I imagine that if you look through them, you'll probably see what I'm seeing without them. Just blobby blurs everywhere. Try it."

Her blue eyes were magnified behind my lens as we tried to look at each other. Bella and Kate were laughing at us when Bella's mom came in.

"Can you please keep it down? There are still guests here, and it's hardly appropriate to be having a private party in here while there are mourners out there."

"There's mourners here, too, Mom," Bella asserted. "We all handle it however we can."

She rolled her eyes more like an angsty teen than the mother of one and returned to her 'guests'.

Kate held her tongue until she was out of hearing range. "Guess that means Toe Wars are off for tonight. Tanya's been practicing, too. She would have beaten you this time."

The little girl giggled as Bella slid into the bench beside her, tickling her ribs. "You wish! You've got a lot of years yet before you get as good as me."

"Ah, but she has her Dad's toe span. Garrett has some hideous feet – that's why he never plays with us. But believe me, he'd reign over all of us. Tanya's the next best thing." Kate suddenly blushed and covered her face. "My god, we're behaving so rudely. Your friend doesn't know about our bizarre tradition –"

"Oh, he knows," Bella remarked, smiling at me. "He's even seen my technique."

Kate lifted her eyebrow in interest. "Is that right? Interesting. By the way, I want to apologize for earlier… I wish I'd been the first to the door. I'd have known you instantly. My sister… well, she clearly thought you were someone else."

"My brother." I nodded my understanding.

She smiled kindly my way. "I am sorry about that. Listen, kiddo…" Kate draped an arm over Bella's shoulder. "I would suggest you disappear shortly. Renee will be fed up with having visitors at any time now, and you don't want to be stuck on clean-up when you have a guest of your own. You two can hide out in my house for the night, if you'd like."

"Kate lives next door now," Bella explained to me. "Thanks, but I think I'd rather be here tonight. I feel closer to Gran –"

"Whatever's best for you, sweetie. Come on, little munchkin! Time to find Daddy and get you home." Tanya crawled over Bella to jump up in her mom's arms. Bella watched on with sadness in her eyes. I didn't know what it was about or what to say, so I said nothing and ate my sandwich.

Once I had shovelled in all of the salad and eaten every bite of the sandwich, I took my plate over to the sink to wash it up. Bella came up behind me and took it from my hand.

"You don't have to do this," she said softly – sadly.

"I came to help you. This is the least I can do… now that I'm here, I don't know what else to do."

Her eyes dropped to her feet. She looked so worn out.

"Bella? What can I do for you? Tell me, and I'll do anything I can to make today easier for you."

She didn't respond. She didn't move an inch, aside from her chest heaving in and out with deep breaths. It was then that I realized this was about Jazz. She needed him here with her, not me. Bella was too damned polite to say that. The reality was there was nothing I could do for her because I simply was not my brother.

"You must be exhausted," she said, breaking the awkward silence. "Let's go upstairs. You can rest."


A/N ~ First and foremost, thank you to kamackie21 for the Arizona university tips. I finally had the chance to go back and make the corrections and I really appreciate you letting me know. :)

Thanks to my beta-reader, Shug. And my pre-reading/bubbling life-line msj. Love you!

I also appreciate those of you who stick with me telling my story the way I want it told. I write the type of story I like to read myself, so I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my fic taste. LOL Now, at this point in the story, who would you rather have come to you at a time like Bella's having - an immature and self-centered b/f, or selfless BFF? Is it obvious to everyone but our narrator, Edward?

The next chapter was my favourite to write. It's a pivotal chapter, and it's got some angst in it. If ya don't like some angst with yer romance/friendship fics, skip it. Thanks for reading! XX ~ SR