Chapter 9 is up! Hope everyone likes it.

Special thanks always to lellabeth for everything she's done.

Also to UnderlinedSmile and nikitabella for their amazing reviews.

So... Read on.

Ps. I do not own twilight, all twilight related characters belong to Stephenie Meyer


Previously on 'You Found Me':

"You still go to the bar?" I ask, feeling the fire in me rise up again. "You've been watching those dancers?" I ask, disgusted. I stand up and shake my head. "I can't believe this. WHEN I'M HOME CRYING MY EYES OUT FOR YOU, YOU'RE AT THE BAR GETTING A GETTING A GOOD DANCE WITH THOSE, THOSE-" I can't even say it, instead grabbing my coat and keys.

"Hey, hey!" he screams, taking my coat from me just as I open the car door. "What are you doing?" he asks with fear in his voice.

"The same thing you're always doing, leaving." I tell him, and with that I yank my coat from hands, slam the car door shut, and speed out of the drive way.

I'm done with this.


Chapter 9: Reasonings

EPOV

Silence.

That's all I or anyone else in the room could hear. It wasn't an awkward silence as it usually was, instead it was comfortable; almost peaceful, just staring up at the ceiling without a care in the world... until I hear Bella give a deep sigh to my right.

"I'm hungry," she complains, causing me to laugh.

"Didn't we just eat about an hour ago?" I question amusedly.

"Aren't guys always supposed to be hungry?"

I snort, "Hey, I'm not the one complaining. I'm good with an early lunch."

"Great, so what do you want?" She asks, getting up from her original spot on the floor and heading towards the kitchen. I lean up on one elbow and turn to her.

"You decide, I already chose on breakfast."

"No, you didn't." She answers, rolling her eyes. "I basically threw the choice at you."

Getting up from the floor, I head to the door to grab her apron. "Well, it was still a great choice and I'm sure you'll know just what to make." I tell her, chucking her apron at her. I can't help but laugh when she refuses to catch it and it lands on her head.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny," she says, sounding annoyed at my laughing - which of course only makes me laugh harder, causing her to growl and point a wooden spoon at me.

I hold up my hands in defense and slowly back away. "Hey now!"

"I'd be careful what you do Masen, we could always have liver and onions for lunch."

I guess my disgusted face shows my thoughts well enough, because she smiles and pulls out the spaghetti. "Spaghetti and meat sauce?"

Once the spaghetti is done, I set the table while Bella dishes up. We sit in the kitchen, with the news on the TV as background sound. Neither of us pay any attention to it, though - I'm too busy devouring my food while Bella neatly swirls hers.

Once I'm half way through my second plate, I look up to see Bella staring off at her food. I reach over to grab her hand, urging her to tell me what's wrong.

She exhales and starts playing with my fingers as she thinks of the right words to say.

"Bella, what wrong?" I ask her, staring at the way our hands are moving.

She sighs and stops her movement so that we're palm to palm.

"Just thinking... about life in general."

"What exactly?"

"Edward, have you ever had a goal... A wish that you want to complete before anything else?" she asks, finally look up at me as she waits for my answer.

"Of course I did. Before I settled down in my career, my friends and I went to a Super Bowl game. We didn't care who was playing, but we knew we wanted to go. When we did it was the best day ever - no matter how much money we spent, none of us could regret it." I tell her, the memory still causing me to smile. "Why?" I ask her, wondering why she's bringing this up.

"I've just been thinking of mine. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't want to back out. But it's not how I thought it would be. I settled for the best option. What happens when it's done? What then?" she questions, and from one look in her eyes I can see the sadness this brings her.

"Then, you go back to work. Just because you've reached one goal doesn't mean you can't think of another."

"But what if there isn't another one?!" She breathes out, taking her hand from mine and wrapping her arms around herself. "What if I ruined any chance of there ever being another dream?! I work as a waitress in a dinner. I didn't go to college because I wanted to get out of this town. All my goals were related to leaving, and now that I've left I'm regretting it. I don't have anything in Jersey except my crappy apartment! I'm so alone, and I hate it." She says through her cries, lowering her face into her hands.

Slowly, so as not to frighten her, I get out of my chair and walk to her side. I move her until she faces me and squat down, bringing myself eye level with her. Gently I tug on her arms, attempting to remove them from her face. She finally relents and rests her hands on her lap, looking towards me.

"Then why don't you just move back here if it's so bad? You said so yourself, you regret moving away in the first place." I tell her, silently hoping she'll choose to move back. Things have been so much better with her here.

"I can't do that, Edward." She tells me, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Why not?" I ask her, smiling. "What's your big goal anyway?"

She tilts her head to the side. "I want to travel," she tells me.

"That's great!" I tell her, "Where do you plan on going? How long will you be gone?"

"Florida, Miami. My boss says she can give me two weeks off so I already bought a ticket there." She explains, seeming confused as to why I'm asking.

"Don't you see?" I ask, shaking her hands softly in mine. "You'll only be gone for two weeks. Like you said after that you come right back. That's your chance! It's the perfect opportunity to move back - your dad and I could help."

"Even if I do consider moving back, the only thing that will be accomplished is moving out of my apartment. I don't want to live here Edward." She tells me, looking at me straight in the eyes as I try to hold back the hurt from hearing that.

"But... You just said you regretted leaving."

"I regret not thinking over everything before I left and I regret the timing, but I don't regret leaving." She says, twisting the knife she's stabbed me with.

"What's so bad about here? You have family, friends, you have people who actually care about you. What more could you possibly want?"

"And everything is the same! I've been here for eighteen years of my life and in that time nothing has changed. It's the same, every day. What fun is there when things are the same?!"

"And what fun is there where everything changes and you're not happy?" I say. Once the words leave my mouth I instantly regret them.

She sighs, looking down. I see a small tear fall from the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that" I say while grabbing one of her hands and rubbing circles on it with my thumb.

"No, you're right." She stutters, using her free hand to wipe away her fallen tears. "I'm not happy."

I reach over towards her, placing a small kiss on her hands. Her eyes widen in shock, but then a slight smile plays on her lips. "Then move back."

Her face glows at the thought, until sadness overwhelms it. "Where would I live? What about work?"

"You can live here for a while, and my restaurant is always looking for help. You could work as waitress there but you would get paid more than at the diner." I tell her, insistent.

Slowly her sadness fades, though it still lurks faintly in her eyes. "I can't work for you Edward. It would be wrong after everything."

I sigh, knowing she's right. "Jasper, Alice's new husband, has been looking for an accountant at his new business. It's only a short bus trip away and the pay is good."

"But I don't have degree."

"It's okay, you wouldn't need one. Jasper went two years without graduating. I'm sure they'll still let you work there."

"That's not always true-"

"In this case it is," I tell her sternly, watching as more tears start falling down her face.

She looks out of the window, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "You know, I've worked so hard to get out of here. I feel like a failure just running back."

I grab her elbows, holding her before she can move away. "Bella, look at me," I beg. After a moment she does. "You. Are. Not. A Failure. Who told you that?"

"No one had to! It's obvious. I've worked for nearly six years as a waitress and what have I earned? A two-week trip to Florida. I haven't even started my life yet." she says, crying.

"Bella, just because it didn't end the way you wanted doesn't mean you've messed up everything. You're twenty-four years old, you have your whole life ahead of you. You won't be alone. Everyone, including me, is going to help you through this."

She sniffles, blinking rapidly to stop her tears. "I almost feel bad about still going on the trip,"

"Don't feel bad," I tell her smiling. "You deserve this vacation."

Her face breaks into a giant smile before she throws herself into my arms, wrapping hers around my neck. The force and my shock at her embrace send us tumbling to the floor, but neither of us break away. She turns her face towards mine and lays a sweet, friendly kiss on my cheek. "Thank you...for everything." She tells me, and I can't help but smile at her.

After a few more moments we both get up from the floor just in time to hear a phone ringing from the other room.

"That must be my phone," Bella says, smiling at me apologetically before going to answer it.


JPOV

Brad hasn't come back yet. I don't know if it's been minutes or hours since he's been gone, but all I can do is stare at the table wondering if this is what it's like for him waiting for me to come home. I don't know how much more of this I can take, not knowing where he is or if he's coming back.

I'm slowly beginning to lose my mind.

Without looking away from the table, I reach over towards my phone and punch in the numbers. I can't call Brad again - it would the seventh time and he'll think I'm crazy, so instead I call someone else.

"Hello?"

"Bella?" I ask, "I need your help."


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- B