A/N- So many theories! I love them all! ShellWRX and Katydid2363 are owed so much! And more thank you's in the end notes! Sorry to say, but this is another chapter that has no flashback. I know, I know. There's no Eddie here, but I can promise to make it up to you!

Chapter 9
The Past Comes Back to Haunt You

"What do you mean you have the tapes?" Emmett shouted. He stood up abruptly from his chair, almost knocking it over in the process.

"Bella," Jasper said in a much calmer tone. "Someone is looking for those tapes. You need to take us to them. Whoever is behind this is going after us one by one."

"I don't understand," Bella said, sitting down. Her legs might have given out from under her had she stayed on them. "Why would someone want the tapes?"

"Why did you want them?" Emmett questioned sternly.

"Because," Bella said in a whisper. "It was the last bit of Edward out there. I was foolish and selfish, but I went back after the accident and took them."

Alice couldn't believe what she was hearing! The final piece to the puzzle had been right in front of her face the whole time! The tapes weren't missing, they were actually within arms length. Of course, that made for a less tantalizing story. She would never admit this to anyone, but she had secretly hoped that Eddie had taken them.

"Wait," Emmett held up his hands. "Jasper, your house was hit and Doc was hit. I haven't been home today to know if the mystery bandit struck me. Bella has anyone broken in to your place?"

"No," she said firmly. "Jasper, your and Doc's homes were broken into?"

"Yeah, but you went to the cottage yesterday right?" Jasper asked.

"We did," Bella said motioning toward Rosalie, "but nothing was out of place."

"Where are the tapes?" Emmett asked through gritted teeth.

"At the cottage," Bella admitted.

"Let's go," Emmett said, heading straight for the door without looking back. He was pissed that she had taken the tapes, sure but he was more pissed that she had never told anyone that she had done so.

"Em," Bella called after him. "Emmett please!" she begged.

Emmett stopped once outside and ran his hands through his short hair out of frustration. He turned around slowly to see the tears in Bella's eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to upset anyone. I was only doing what I thought was right."

A part of him wanted to understand but a bigger part of him wanted to find those tapes and keep her safe. Eddie would have killed him himself if he let anything happen to her.

"I'm driving" were the only words he said to her.

Jasper and Alice climbed in the backseat of Emmett's Hummer. Rosalie wasn't far behind them, keeping quiet as she witnessed her best friend go through emotional distress. She wanted to reach out to her but even Rosalie couldn't understand why she would take the tapes and not tell anyone.

Bella climbed into the front seat, looking at Emmett from the corner of her eye every so often. "Em," she said again.

"Bella," he said as he held up a hand to stop her from speaking. "I need a minute to process this okay? It wasn't just Eddie on those tapes. It was all of us."

The large vehicle cruised down the dark roads as it headed for Rialto Beach. Behind them, a lone vintage muscle car followed a safe distance behind them, trying its best not to be seen. The person driving the car, hidden all night by the shadows of others, had seen the fall out transpire in the bar. He assumed that whatever caused the group to up and leave so soon would occupy them so that they wouldn't be distracted with other cars, especially when they reached the lesser traveled roads.

"I'm sorry," Bella whimpered. "I really am. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I swear I wasn't. I just…I wanted to hold on to them. It was my way of holding on to hope. A part of me has never believed that Edward is dead. Emmett, a body was never found," she said, sobbing.

Emmett couldn't take it any longer. He reached over the console and took her hand in his. "Me either, B."

The three in the backseat sat silently listening to the two long time friends grieve.

"I thought that if I had the tapes and he came back, he'd come and find me. We'd finally be together again. Damn it!" Bella shouted causing Alice and Rosalie to flinch. "I was so stupid! I've put us all in danger."

"No you didn't." Jasper sat forward from his position in the backseat. He placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and rubbed circles against her skin. "I don't think it's him, though. I know you probably don't want to hear that. It's someone else, someone who thinks that they can make a quick buck off of us."

Bella laughed to herself thinking that she was no better than whoever was looking for the tapes. They were after missing music, she was writing a book.

Alice thought the same thing to herself. She was no better putting their faces on the television for the whole world to see.

The rest of the drive was relatively quiet. When the car reached the gravel driveway that led to the cottage, Emmett's grip on the steering wheel tightened. He hadn't been here since before Eddie died. He couldn't imagine how Bella handled the trip earlier in the day. This was the home she had shared with him. He was probably present in every room of the tiny cottage. His clothes maybe even still in the closet.

Bella jumped from the truck, everyone else, taking their time, trying to see the landscape through the dark of the night. "You coming?" she asked turning her head slightly to see the others with their heads in the trees.

Falling in line behind Bella, the others followed her up the stone walkway until they were standing on the porch. Emmett and Jasper both smiled when they saw the plaque above the door frame that read Ella. Alice swooned on the inside, finding it romantic the play of their names.

When the door swung open, Bella flipped on the nearest light switch and ran straight for the bedroom. Rosalie made a move to follow her best friend but Emmett stopped her by grabbing her elbow.

"Let her go. She might need a few minutes alone."

Rosalie nodded and took a seat on the couch, Emmett sitting down beside her. "It's so weird," he muttered out loud. "I haven't been back here in over twelve years, yet the place looks exactly the same."

"Bella said that Seth has been keeping the place up for her," Rosalie replied.

"He's done a good job," Emmett laughed.

Alice and Jasper chose to stand while they waited for Bella to emerge. Alice found the place breathtaking and was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see the place in the daylight. She wanted so badly to walk along the beach, Jasper's hand in hers. She had heard the soft crash of the waves against the shore when they were standing outside. Maybe another time, she thought dreamily. Maybe after this is was all said and done she and Bella would become friends and she'd invite her back.

Bella flicked on the lamp next to the bed giving the room an angelic glow. She opened the closet door and gasped when the light inside came on. She hadn't bothered to clean the closet out when she decided not to live there any more. She had forgotten that all of Edward's clothes still hung neatly on the rods. Tears flooded her eyes while she fingered the shirts and jeans that circled around her. She pulled one of the shirts to her nose and inhaled deeply. It still smelled like him. Even after all these years, his clothes still had the scent of almond that always enveloped him.

With her bearings somewhat intact, Bella reached up to the top shelf on her tip toes and removed the simple shoe box that was hidden amongst the clutter. She traced the outside of the box with her fingers, watching her tears stain the cardboard. She hadn't thought of its contents in so long. She had almost forgotten that she even had the tapes. They meant nothing to her without Edward but to whoever was after them, they meant everything.

She took the box to her bed and opened it up, finding a smaller black box. When she opened it up, a lone jeweled CD case sat inside. She picked it up with both of her hands, the tears continuing to flow. This was all she had left of him. Besides the music that was already out there, this was the last raw piece of Edward that she had left. The box in her lap felt heavy still, even as she removed the CD. She peered inside and found another tape, this one resembling something that would have been used in video cameras. She smiled through the tears knowing that the music wasn't the only thing she had left of him. She now had him in rare form. The interviews Seth had done that last night were sitting on her lap, untouched for twelve years.

The car had followed the Hummer closely until he was certain of where it was headed. He backed off slightly when the traffic had become dense and gave the lead vehicle a ten minute head start. When he pulled on to the familiar gravel drive, he slowed down to nearly a stop, creeping the rest of the way through the thick forest. Lights were on inside so he knew that he was right in guessing that they had come to the cottage.

The high beams of the car flicked once, then twice before they were turned off all together.

Bella froze from inside the bedroom. Jasper walked over to the curtained window and peaked out.

"Who is it?" Alice asked, sidling up next to him.

"No idea," Jasper mumbled. "I don't see anyone out there."

"Well, someone has to be," Emmett said, standing up with a huff. "A pair of headlights just came on and then off."

"Did you turn the lights off on your car?" Rosalie asked him. "Some cars, if you don't turn them immediately off, flicker like that and shut off themselves so that the battery doesn't die."

Before Emmett could answer, Bella came running toward the door holding a box close to her chest. "He's here," she said breathlessly. "Edward's back. He's come back for me."

She looked at the others hoping to see the same elation that she was feeling in their faces, instead she saw disbelief.

"Bella, honey, Edward's not here," Rosalie said as if she were talking to a small child.

"But he is!" she exclaimed. "That was our sign! The headlights. And I saw him at the bar. He was in the back watching us sing. Oh gosh," she said, looking around the room. "He'll be inside any minute. You all have to leave. He'll be inside any second."

Bella began pushing the others out of the door, corralling them like cattle. "I'll call you, Rose," she said. "After Edward and I talk, I'll call you. And Emmett, Jasper- as soon as he's up for it, I'll call you too. I know you both want to see him, but I need this right now. I need him."

As they were pushed outside, Bella shut the door and ran to the bathroom, pinching her cheeks and fluffing her hair. Edward hadn't seen her in so long that she wanted to look her best.

Outside, Emmett and Jasper looked at each other with wide eyes. "Come on," Emmett finally said signaling towards the truck.

"What are we doing?" Alice questioned. The reporter side of her wanted to witness the reunion of epic proportions, but another side of her, the rational side, knew that Eddie wasn't back from the grave and that they should stay behind to rationalize this with Bella.

"Get in the truck, I'll tell you in a second," Emmett said.

He opened the door for Rosalie before running around to the driver's side. Jasper and Alice crawled into the back, both sitting as close together as possible. Emmett drove around to the small garage that wasn't attached to the house, but near the back. It was where Eddie had kept his car. When they were out of sight, Emmett cut the engine and explained to the others what he was doing.

"Bella obviously thinks that Eddie is here. As much as I want to believe that myself, it has to be the person looking for the tapes."

"And what if it is Eddie?" Alice asked.

"If it is," Rosalie answered first, "then he's got a swift kiss in the balls delivered by yours truly headed his way."

Emmett grinned and tilted his head to the blonde at his side. "When all this is over, have dinner with me?"

Rosalie blushed and bowed her head. "I'd love to."

"Okay, here he comes," Jasper said, tapping Emmett on the shoulder. Sure enough, a black Plymouth Hemi-Cuda crept its way down the driveway. Emmett and Jasper couldn't believe their eyes. "It can't be," Jasper whispered to himself.

"There's no way it is," Emmett spoke loudly, emerging from the vehicle and racing across the lawn just as Bella opened the door and bounded down the front steps.

"Emmett, no!" she cried.

Jasper was right behind Emmett. Alice and Rosalie fled to the steps of the house, holding Bella back from going any further.

Emmett yanked the door to the Plymouth open and extracted the man inside with brute force. Emmett reared his fist back prepared to hit either Eddie or the imposter when Jasper stopped him. Emmett held back, and looked at the coward in front of him.

"Emmett," Bella continued to cry, escaping the hold that Alice and Rosalie had on her and rushed to the car. She gasped and gripped Jasper's arm when she looked at the scared face cowering behind his shaky hands.

"How could you," Bella seethed. "How could you!"

"Bella…" Emmett said in a warning tone.

"I can explain," Doc said in a nervous voice.

"Then you better start," Jasper demanded.

"I wanted the tapes," he explained. "I thought that if I showed up here as Eddie, she'd give them to me."

"How did you know I had them?" Bella asked. "Did you come inside my house?"

"No, I swear I didn't. I'll admit, I paid you a visit Jasper, and Emmett, I'm sorry in advance to your place, but I didn't do anything here. I honestly thought after I talked with Jasper and that cute little reporter, that she'd tell you the tapes were missing and then you'd hand them over. I mean, the likelihood of you giving them to me wasn't very high."

"And you think I'm going to now? You scared the shit out of me! You had me thinking that Edward was back for me. I'm so disgusted at you right now," Bella spat.

"You trashed your own store?" Jasper wondered. "That's so stupid."

"No kidding," Doc agreed. "Listen, I didn't want to cause no trouble. But I just thought, as The Cruisers manager, those tapes might make us some money. We're back on the charts," he said, giving Emmett a half smile and playfully punching his arm. When Emmett didn't budge at Doc's attempts to be lighthearted, Doc turned his smile into a frown.

"What do you plan to do with the tapes?" Bella asked.

"What should have been done from the beginning, I'm going to sell them and sell them to the highest bidder."

"And us?" Emmett asked. "You royally fucked us out of anything when Eddie died. We're owed so much right now in royalties that I could quit my shitty DJ'ing job."

"I know," Doc said sounding defeated. "I'm really sorry about that. With Eddie gone, I figured no one would ever want anything to do with the music. How was I supposed to know it was going to be popular again?"

Bella looked at Jasper and Emmett. Even though she had taken the tapes without the consent of anyone else, she was looking to them now to help her decide on what she should do.

Jasper knew by the look on Bella's face what she was asking. Even Emmett appeared to be thinking the matter over. The minutes ticked by before any of them spoke. When they did, it was Jasper whose voice rang out into the night.

"What are you going to do with them, Bella?" he asked. Bella shrugged. "Go ahead," he urged with a smirk. "Give them to him."

Emmett nodded his head. "Couldn't hurt. Asshole's done enough to us anyway."

Bella sighed and extended her hand that held the CD case out to Doc. His eyes widened and a small smile started to play on his lips. With a steady hand, he reached for the tape only for Bella to withdraw them.

"I'm giving this to you under a few conditions." When Doc nodded his understanding, Bella continued. "First, you make sure that Emmett and Jasper, along with Mike and Jake's family, receive a portion of the money. I'll have Rosalie contact our lawyer first thing Monday morning to set up a contract.

"Second, I want Alice to have access to anything on the CD for her interview. If you can't comply with these stipulations then you can't have the music."

"I…I," Doc stuttered. "I can do that."

"But what about you Bella?" Emmett questioned. "You're on there too, and Eddie. He'd want you to get a portion to."

Bella shook her head. "No, I don't want anything. I'm capitalizing enough on the book."

Bella handed over the CD to an eager Carlisle who smiled like a kid on Christmas morning. "I promise I won't let you down. I swear I'll make you all proud."

He opened the door to the car and settled in, firing the engine up and putting it into reverse. Bella, Emmett, and Jasper had moved to the steps of the porch, standing alongside Alice and Rosalie. Together they watched the vintage muscle car retreat from their view, Carlisle's head hanging out of the window as he drove away.

"You'll see," he cried out. "I'll make you all so proud, I'll make Eddie proud."

The five went back into the house, silent, as they replayed the events of the day.

"Rosalie," Bella said, "You'll need to contact Jenks on Monday about a contract. I want to make sure that everything I said to Doc is in there."

"No problem," Rosalie replied.

"Bella, I really appreciate you doing that. You didn't have to," Alice looked at Bella with sincerity in her eyes.

"I know, but I wanted to. I want you to have the exclusive to the music. Listen, I'm going to call it a night. You're all more than welcome to stay if you'd like. I know the couch isn't that big, but I'm sure I can find some blankets and extra pillows around here somewhere."

"Go to bed," Emmett said with a smile. "It's been a long day. Don't worry about us, we'll figure something out," he added with a wink.

In Bella's head, she thought, no doubt you will. She walked to her room, closing the door quietly behind her. She had never slept in the big queen size bed without Edward by her side but it looked as if tonight she was going to.

She walked over to the bed, noticing the video tape that had been in the shoe box with the tapes she had stolen. She smiled to herself, suddenly no longer tired. Picking up the tape, she walked back into the living room where Alice and Jasper had made a pallet on the floor and Rosalie was resting her head on Emmett's lap on the couch.

"What's wrong?" Rosalie asked sitting up right.

Bella held up the tape and gave a half smile to her friends. "There's something I think we all need to watch."

A/N- So it was Carlisle! Don't hate. I know most of you wanted it to be Eddie. We're in the home stretch now. Only three more chapters and I promise, you'll find out about Eddie's fate soon. I'm not that mean to make you wait until the very last chapter.

I wanted to take the time to thank several people. Eddie and The Cruisers was the story spotlight last week on The Avant Garde awards site. The write up was wonderful and it captured everything I hoped to convey with this story. You can read it here. www (dot) avantgardeawards (dot) com/story-spotlight-eddie-and-the-cruisers

I'm not by any means a big time writer in this community but I have big time love for my readers. It means the world to me when my work is recognized amongst my peers and people that I adore and have the utmost respect for.

So, a HUGE thank you to Heidi for the truly wonderful comments she had on the story and another HUGE thank you to the girls that provided their own thoughts for the post. JB30, Burntcore, maplestyle, aerobee82, Courtney37, and DICATAKADD If I could hug each one of you I totally would so with that being said, hug your monitor or phone or whatever device you're reading this on right now. That's me giving you my thanks for the super nice things y'all said.

And to those of you reading and reviewing; letting me know your own theories as to what in the hell has happened to Eddie, hug you're reading devices as well. I'm giving hugs out all around.

Next chapter we find out what's on that video tape!

xoxo
Holly