It's Not Over

By Ginamr

Summary: He'd hurt her and nearly destroyed her. But Edward's crucial mistake was thinking that Bella wouldn't fight back. Bella was a lot tougher than she looked and she was damned if she was going to believe for one minute that the last several months of her life had been a lie.

Soundtrack for this chapter: Maybe Someday by the Cure, Perfect by Hedley

This chapter is from Edward & Bella's POVs.


Six

BPOV

I stared blankly at the mug of hot chocolate in my hands, the little white globs that had been marshmallows nearly melted now from the heat of the drink. Bringing it to my lips, I took a ginger sip. The savory sweet flavor of the chocolate danced across my taste buds and I felt my sour mood beginning to evaporate. A glance out the back door revealed Jake and Bree cuddled closely on the outdoor sofa, completely absorbed in one another. I couldn't help but grin at seeing him so happy.

Scant hours ago, I'd been making his life hell with my meaningless flirting and now he sat beside his destined mate as though he'd never lived before meeting her. It made me reflect on Edward and I's tumultuous beginnings. A weak laugh slipped past my lips as I remembered my stubborn vampire's whiplash-inducing mood swings, as I'd called them at the time. The hints had been designed to be cryptic and had made me want to break his neck for being such a pain in the ass.

I shook my head. That was my Edward. Pain in the ass extraordinaire. As much as I loved the idiot, I knew that we'd need to work on this martyr complex that made us both miserable. I wasn't going to let it go on any further. When he arrived, I would give him one final warning about it and every time after that when he started in on it, I was going to walk away and refuse to listen. Maybe that's what it would take for him to finally get it. I'd sure as hell given him enough chances.

Another thing that I knew that we needed to talk about was his intimacy issues and his lack of confidence in his control. I could understand that he was old fashioned and that he was afraid of hurting me, but it was a particular part of his martyr complex that needed to be stopped in its tracks. I was determined to reach some sort of compromise and to get him to push his boundaries, even if only a little bit at a time.

The reason he was so scared of the things we hadn't done was because he didn't know what to expect. Maybe if we went slowly enough in trying new things, he could become comfortable with them. I wasn't exactly Miss Experienced myself, but I was willing to try. It was fair that he agree to do the same, right? Sighing, I took a larger gulp of my hot chocolate, allowing the warmth to fill me. One thing was for certain—I wasn't letting him leave again, even if it took me appealing to the rest of the Cullens to stop it.

"He's here!" came Alice's familiar trill from the living room.

I sat the mug aside and sighed, preparing myself to face the man who had abandoned me. The anger came flooding back. I knew I was going to need it if I he was going to understand how much it had hurt me when he'd left. There was no way he was getting off easy this time. I wasn't going to just hand him my heart again. He'd have to work to earn my trust back.

My feet carried me to the front door and I waited for him to step through. I could feel my heart pounding inside of my chest as the thought of seeing him again after all this time stole my good sense. It was then that I heard the approaching footsteps on the porch. Not a moment later, the door swung open and my breath caught as I stared into his dark obsidian eyes.

His face showed first surprise, and then confusion, at last reflecting a sort of nervousness. Before I could step away, he'd wrapped his arms around me. Willing myself to stay strong, I fought to remove his arms. They fell limply to his side and for the first time, I considered that it may have been a mistake to come here. The coward in me had me turning to run until I felt his hand on my shoulder. I froze.

"Bella?"

I tensed and gritted my teeth in anger. My courage returning, I turned to face him. "How dare you lie to me. Because of you and your damn martyr complex, I was catatonic for months. Charlie was on the verge of sending me home to Renee. I don't give a damn what your reasons were. The fact remains that you chose to run away from me rather than face the obstacles together. I know what you are and I accepted that a long time ago. I'd rather die than live without you." I was millimeters from his face now, the tears flowing full force. "Do you understand now, Edward? Do you understand how I feel about you yet or do you need a visual aid?"

A strong temptation to slap him nearly overwhelmed my better judgment. I knew that it wouldn't hurt him. I'd only injure my hand more. Staring into his eyes, I didn't back down. The adrenaline pumped through me like fire and I struggled to slow my breathing. There was no mistaking the hurt in his eyes. I felt a twinge of remorse, but tucked it away. He needed a wakeup call and I was giving it to him.

/\/\/\

EPOV

Her anger had been the last thing I was expecting. This was a side of Bella that I'd never truly seen. The venom in her words and the fire in her eyes left no doubt in my mind that she was furious with me. She had every right to be. What I'd done to her was absolutely deplorable and if I spent the rest of eternity trying, I would never be able to make it up to her.

Swallowing roughly, I nodded. "You're right," I murmured. "You're absolutely right, Bella, and I hate myself for what I've done to you. Leaving you was the biggest mistake I've ever made. And I know that no reason is good enough, but I thought that I was doing what was best. If I'd realized that it was you Victoria was after, I never would have left."

I could see the fire shift to confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

A wry grin spread across my lips. "Jacob caught their scent in the woods about two days before we left. I thought that they were after my family and I. It was my suggestion that we leave the area, hoping that they would follow. I knew you couldn't come with us. It was too much of a risk so Jacob and his pack agreed to keep an eye on you for me."

"What about Jasper?" she whispered. "I thought that you all left because of what happened on my birthday."

"That only served to solidify my decision," I agreed. Smiling, I pulled the ring from my pocket and she gasped. "I've had it since your birthday. It was my mother's. I was considering asking you that day; but after what happened, I knew I couldn't. Jacob's news led me to make one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I hated leaving you, but I had to in order to keep you safe."

"You're right," she bit out. "It was a big mistake and I've spent every moment since you left paying for it. I should hate you for that. I should walk away from you just like you walked away from me."

My throat tightened. "You have every right to hate me, Bella. I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me for the pain I've caused you."

"Oh, no. You're not getting out of this that easily," she chided. "I've had enough of this need you feel to punish yourself. I'm staying and if it takes the rest of eternity, we're going to work this out because when I said forever, Edward, I meant forever."

I shook my head. "Bella—"

Her lips tightened. "Don't you dare tell me that I don't know what I want." She dropped her gaze from mine. "It was stupid of me to come here. Maybe you really meant what you told me that day in the woods. Maybe everything that we had was a lie."

Her words were like a slap to the face. The defeat in her voice as she'd said them made it seem as though she actually believed them. I stared at her, stunned beyond speech. Had I really lied so convincingly that she thought—? It was almost inconceivable that she doubted so much what I felt for her. I would die for her, kill for her and she had the nerve to doubt what I felt for her?

"All we do is hurt each other," she murmured. "You do it out of some misplaced sense of chivalry and I do it because you did it first. That kind of a relationship isn't healthy. We either need to change that or move on because I refuse to play to your stupid self-sacrifice mentality anymore. And your issues with being intimate are affecting us, too. I understand that you're from a different time coupled with the fact that you're afraid of hurting me. But whenever you push me away, it makes me feel like you don't want me that way."

At last, I found my voice. "My sweet Bella. I want you more than you will ever know. It's so difficult for me to stop, but I know that we have to. I stop because I know that if I allow it to continue, I'll take advantage of you."

"We can take it slow," she murmured. "We don't have to do everything all at once, but I'd like to feel like you're becoming more comfortable with that side of our relationship. It's important to me to know that you find me attractive and want that intimacy with me. I think it would be much easier for us both to adjust to one another over time than all in one night. There are plenty of other things that we can do besides...that."

I fought back a grin at the familiar blush that colored her cheeks.

"I just—I've never done those things with a man before," she continued. "That doesn't mean that I don't like them or that I want you to stop. I like it when you touch me. You need to understand that I want more than anything to see you and to touch you. I want to learn what pleases you. This isn't supposed to be a one way thing and wanting pleasure for yourself doesn't make you selfish. Pleasure is something to be shared. I won't be happy unless you are and I know you won't be happy unless I am. That's what makes a relationship work—give and take."

I smiled, kissing the top of her head. "You're absolutely right, love. I never thought of it that way."

"Finally," she whispered, relief evident in her voice.

I paused. "Are you still angry with me?"

She sighed. "No, I suppose not. I never could stay angry with you."

"I know that I'll have to work to earn your trust again," I murmured. "But I'll spend every moment of eternity doing so, I swear to you."

/\/\/\

BPOV

I couldn't help the ridiculous grin that spread across my face at his promise. "How about a compromise? I'll be a little more patient and you won't be so uptight, okay?"

He chuckled. "Deal."

"Seal it with a kiss?" I prodded, unable to help the blush that colored my cheeks.

He laughed openly and my heart leapt at the sound. I hadn't realized how much I loved his laugh and the sound of his voice until I couldn't hear it anymore. His lips brushed against mine and I giggled.

"A real kiss, you monk," I joked.

Before I could draw another breath, his mouth was on mine in a devouring kiss. A soft moan escaped me and my legs felt like jelly as he slipped his tongue past my lips. I sucked in a breath when it made contact with mine and buried my hands in his hair gripping tightly. I whimpered helplessly when he let lose a low growl.

Suddenly, Edward pulled back from the kiss and I was about to groan in frustration when I noticed that he looked quite fascinated with the wall, his lips a tight line. I took in our surroundings and noted that every Cullen in residence along with Jake and Bree stood staring at us, all of them wearing knowing grins with the exception of Jake, who looked like he wanted to pummel Edward. I smiled sheepishly.

Emmett opened his mouth I assumed to make some smart-ass comment, like always, but was silenced by Rosalie elbowing him. His smug grin, however, stayed firmly in place and I was certain that the comment was plain in his thoughts. My gaze returned to Jake and I raised an eyebrow, hoping my expression read something along the lines of 'Down, boy'. I knew he was trying to protect me, but it wasn't necessary anymore. For the first time, I felt that Edward truly understood what I expected of our relationship and we could work to reach a compromise of sorts.

I tugged on Edward's sleeve and smirked. "Come on. I figure we'll need to go a good distance to get out of vampire hearing range." His features relaxed and he even allowed a ghost of a smile to form on his lips as he nodded in agreement. I turned to the others and shrugged. "Sorry. This is a private show."

Within moments, I was on Edward's back and we were racing deep into the forest. The trees flying by at lightning speed still made me a little queasy, but I was adjusting to it. I grinned happily as I felt the coolness and strength of his body beneath my hands. It really was like coming home.