A/N

What happens after their talk? They still have to work together but will it be easier now?

As always thank you so much for the incredible reviews. I love seeing the opinions of Edward and it makes me happy to know that so many of you think he doesn't even deserve her anymore.

I promise that I will be responding to reviews, it is just obviously going to take me some time.

Thank you again…I do not own the characters and enjoy.

BPOV

I closed the door on Edward and leaned against it and weighed my options. I could sit here and continue to dwell on a past that was over and done with or I could move on with life. I chose the latter option. It was time for me to move on, time for me to live again. Picking up the phone I called Alice, I knew that she would be able to help me.

To say that she was ecstatic to hear from me would be putting it mildly. We spent the day with Rosalie, shopping, pampering, and gossiping. I told them everything that had happened with Edward, including our trip to Tahoe. It was exactly what I needed. Someone other than him to share all this with, I needed to stop holding it all in. It felt so damn good to have someone else to talk about these past few weeks. Someone who would be on my side, someone who would let me know that everything was going to be alright.

"I want to cut off his balls and shove them down his throat," that was exactly what I had been hoping for. Rosalie never beat around the bush.

"I'll hold him down," Alice held a butter knife menacingly in her hand.

"There is no need to get violent," they actually had me laughing. "It is the past, I just wanted to let you know that I am ready to move on but I need help. I need you guys to keep me on the right track, to push me when I am ready to give up. Please."

"Of course," they both replied at the same time.

"It's about time. You've wasted too much time on that worthless bastard," that is why I loved them.
"I have just the guy for you too, I work with him. He is so nice, smart, kind." They were always on my side, despite the fact that I had run away all those years ago, they were here for me unconditionally.

"Thanks. You'll be the first person I call when I am ready to date okay Alice." it was all I could say without crying. She smiled at me and reached across the table to squeeze my hand.

We avoided the topic of Edward for the rest of the afternoon. We just enjoyed being with each other and I felt as if a weight had been lifted off of me and for the first time in a long time I was looking forward to tomorrow.

EPOV

The minutes dragged by after I left her house. After what seemed like an eternity it was finally time to head to work. I sat in my office counting down the minutes until our meeting was scheduled. I headed to the conference room early and was not surprised to find that I was the first one there. I took a seat and waited once again.

Every time the door to the meeting room opened I almost dropped the pen I was twirling in my fingers. I tried to remember to breathe as I watched person after person walk into the room. I was only interested in one person and they seemed to be waiting until the very last minute to join the meeting.

Then the door opened and I could smell her before I could see her. That intoxicating scent of fruit and flowers filled my nose. I dropped my pen on the table and used all the willpower I had to not instantly turn to look at her. She walked across the room and looked around. It did not take her long to determine that the only seat left was next to me. She strode across the room and took her seat. Amazing would not even begin to describe the way she looked. She had on a light blue skirt with a darker blue turtle neck sweater. It had always been my favorite color on her but I didn't try to read too much into it as she sat down next to me.

"Edward," she looked at me and nodded.

"Bella," I smiled at her. She smiled very briefly and then looked away. It was better than not even looking at me I suppose.

The meeting went smoothly. Our working styles complemented each other perfectly and before long the meeting was over. We all collected our paper work and headed out to our offices. I watched her walk away and then started to head back to my office. The rest of the day was filled with paperwork but I didn't accomplish much. I kept thinking back to my conversation with Bella the day before and I realized that there was something I needed to do before I could ever hope of having her trust me again. It would be difficult and embarrassing but it was something that I needed to do. There were some answers I didn't have and until I did neither of us would be able to move on.

I got on my computer and found a list of people. I called each and every one until I found someone who would be able to fit me in this afternoon. Even if I never got her back I needed to give her one more thing. She deserved to know why things had ended so badly between us and I needed to find a way to give her that answer.

BPOV

I got back to my office and closed the door. Moving to my desk I sat down and took some deep breaths. Lifting my head I smiled. I had done it, I had sat down next to him and I had survived. I didn't have any urges to stab him with my pen and I didn't feel extreme hate for him either. Perhaps this could work out after all, we could work together like any other colleagues would and not experience any difficulties. For the first time in a long time I felt optimistic and ready to face whatever obstacle that could come my way.

As the day winded down I packed some files in my bag and prepared to head home. I had fallen behind these past few days with everything that had been happening and was prepared for a long night of catching up.

The next few weeks followed in the same manner. We had to meet every few days to go over the case together and while I wouldn't exactly call it comfortable we were polite. He never tried for more. He never attempted to push beyond the boundaries I had set for myself. As each day went by I became less and less apprehensive and actually found myself laughing with him one day. It was at that moment that I knew that I needed to try again. It was time to get out there and to stop being afraid. The big question now was how.

I hesitated before dialing the numbers on the phone. Once I hit send there was no turning back. But she had been calling and checking in on me every day since we went shopping and I know she couldn't wait to get me back on the scene as she called it. I crossed my fingers and hit send. No use putting it off any longer.

"Bella, does this phone call mean what I think it means? I have just the guy, his name is Eric and he works in the office with me and…" I zoned out for the rest of the phone call. All I knew is that on Saturday night at 8 for the first time in a long time I had a date. Alice was coming to my place at 3 to help me get ready. I was a bit scared to find out what she was going to do to me that required 5 hours of prep time but I didn't complain. I knew that they had been patient with me these past few years and all my friends just wanted me to find what they had.

I tried to not think about my date for the rest of the week at work. On Friday Edward asked me if I had any plans for the weekend and I was honest with him. It wasn't hard to see the pain that flashed quickly in his eyes but he told me to have a great time and quickly walked away. I watched him as he made his way back to his office and even though I knew he didn't deserve it I felt bad for him. I knew that he had kept to himself after he started. He was the talk of the office all the women wanted to know his status and he systematically shot each and every one of them down. More than a few of them had told me that he was interested in me, that it was obvious by the way he looked at me but I offered no information or encouragement on the subject.

As I headed home I hoped that he at least had some plans for the weekend. Alice was at my house at 3 sharp the next day. She did my hair; she did my make up made me try on outfit after outfit before she finally declared me ready to go at 7:30. She had wanted him to pick me up at my place but I had refused. I wanted to have a way out. Perhaps not the best way to go into a date but I was being practical. I walked into the restaurant and looked around for the man that Alice had described to me. I found him sitting at a round table against the back wall of the restaurant. He saw me approaching and immediately stood up to pull my chair out for me. After I got settled in my seat we just sat there and looked at each other for a minute. I wasn't sure what to say and he seemed to be having the same issues.

"Well," we both started at the same time and laughed.

"How long have you known Alice," he asked after I waved for him to start first.

From there on the conversation flowed and the dinner was enjoyable. We found that we shared a lot of the same tastes and views. He was the head of IT for Alice's company and appeared to be quite shy like me. Before I knew it we were sharing dessert at the end of our meal. He paid the bill and walked me to my car.

"I had a great time Bella," he opened my car door for me and waited patiently for me to get in.

"I did too, thank you for a wonderful evening," I smiled up at him.

"Would you be free to do something next weekend," he looked down, avoiding eye contact with me.

"I would love that," his smile lit up his whole face. He raised my hand to his lips and gave it light kiss before letting go and closing my door. He stood in the same place watching me drive away. I looked down at my hand and smiled. Things had gone very well tonight and I was looking forward to next weekend. I know that Alice would be sitting by her phone waiting for me to call and give her all the details from this evening so as soon as I got home I washed up and changed into my pajamas and spent the rest of the evening going over every detail of the date. I could hear Jasper in the background begging for some attention but she shooed him away and continued to talk to me.

After an hour I finally managed to get her off the phone and promised that I would go shopping with her Saturday to pick out my next date outfit. I thanked her again and hung up the phone. I went to my bedroom and climbed into bed. For once I feel asleep quickly and thankfully dreamt of nothing.

EPOV

She was out there right now on a date with someone. I shouldn't be mad, I should be happy. She was finally moving on with her life like she was supposed to but I would be lying if I said it wasn't painful for me to imagine her with someone. I had been trying hard to not press her at work. I had been polite but not pushy. I'm sure I was getting a reputation at work for being aloof to the women at work but everyone paled in comparison to Bella. She was all I could see, she was all that I wanted. We had been talking more and more at work. It was all work related of course but one day I said something and she had actually laughed with me. The sound of her laughter was something that I would never be able to forget. I had never expected to hear it again. Perhaps we could be friends at some point after all.

When I left work later that day I made my way to my weekly 6pm appointment. For the past three weeks I had been going to a psychiatrist to talk about Bella. All these years I had known that what I had done was wrong but I never bothered to worry about why I had done it and after talking with Bella I realized that she still deserved that answer. It would always hang over her and she didn't deserve that at all. I never wanted her to think that she had been to blame for my actions.

So every week I sat down and talked to Dr. Andrews. I have to admit it was nice to talk with someone who didn't judge me when I told the story of what had happened. She just let me talk without input. She would ask questions every now and then but in the beginning she just let me get it out. Then she began asking me the hard questions. The questions that forced me to examine my actions and find the answers that I had wanted.

"I was scared," it came out one day unexpectedly. She said nothing so I continued. "I was scared. When I got there I could barely function without her. I considered coming back immediately after I got there but I knew it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Then I wondered about what would happen if we got accepted to different schools and what we would do after graduation. Would we break up? I planned on marrying her. We had already planned our future. How would that work if I could barely manage to get up in the morning when she wasn't around? That is why I wanted her to see other people. I didn't want her to resent me for making her feel the way I felt. When I found Tanya I was grateful to have someone who was going through the same thing that I was. She understood what I was feeling and we helped each other survive. When her boyfriend broke up with her she was heartbroken. When she fell asleep in my arms that night I realized that I couldn't let that happen to me. I didn't want to end up broken like she was. I wanted to support Tanya but I didn't want to be around her either because she always reminded me of what might happen." I had been talking non-stop and paused to take a breath.

Dr. Andrews looked at me but didn't say a word. After a moment I continued again.

"When Tanya and I were studying that night she still looked so broken. All I could think of was how I didn't want that to be me one day. I never wanted to hurt that bad."

"So why would you be willing to put Bella through that then?"

"I figured that if I did it first than she wouldn't have a chance to hurt me."

That didn't work out the way I had planned on it. It was obviously not a good idea to begin with anyways. In order to not get hurt I was willing to hurt her? To say it out loud made me realize how wrong I had been all those years ago. In order to keep myself from getting hurt I was willing to destroy the one person who I hadn't wanted to lose. No wonder she had hated me.

I went into work the next day and wanted to talk to her. I wanted to see what her weekend plans were in hopes that we could talk about this and I could give her some closure. When she told me that she had a date I felt like throwing up. What had I expected though? That she would sit and wait around until I figured myself out and then take me back with open arms? Well a man could hope right?

So I put off talking to her not wanting to make things awkward between us again. I couldn't bring myself to ask her about her date but I couldn't help but notice that she was smiling more and just seemed happy. I tried to be happy for her, she deserved this but it was hard. She became more relaxed around me and I just decided to appreciate and enjoy whatever little part of her I could have.

I continued to see Dr. Andrews who encouraged me to not only talk to Bella about the past but Tanya as well if possible. She deserved an apology for the way I had used her and then abandoned her. To say that that phone call was difficult would be an understatement. She had a few choice words for me but in the end listened to what I had to say and then got off the phone with me quickly. I had to admit that I at least felt better for giving her an apology that was long overdue. It was finally a step in the right direction.

Work continued on and then one day it was time to go back to Tahoe for another meeting. It would just be Bella and I again and we were going to drive up together. On one hand this would be the perfect opportunity to talk to her but on the other I didn't want her angry and forced to fly home again. I was incredibly nervous as we met up the morning of the meeting. I said nothing as I got behind the wheel of the car and backed out of the parking lot.

"So Edward, what have you been up to lately?" It seemed like as good of an opening as any. Taking a deep breath I decided that now would be the time to tell her.

So Edward is going to try and talk to her in the car. Is it the best idea, that remains to be seen. Thank you again for reading this and please let me know what you think.