Disclaimer: Not mine.


Chapter Nine

BPOV

"Emmett!" I yelled, banging on his front door. I still had on my pajamas, my hair was a complete disaster; but the anger slicing through me wouldn't wait for anything.

I raised my fist to pound on the door again just as Rose yanked it open, her sleepy eyes wide and confused.

"Bella, what's going on? Are you okay?" Her head whipped from side to side, her eyes focused behind me as she searched for whatever it was that had me beating down her door at seven in the morning. But what she was looking for wasn't behind me...it...or rather he was behind her.

"How could you?" I snapped, stepping around Rose and moving directly in front of Emmett. I was so close and he was so tall, I had to crane my neck to see his eyes.

"Bella, how could I what? What in the hell is going on?" He looked genuinely confused, which only pissed me off more, because obviously his words that day were no more than an afterthought.

"C'mon, man, there's still time." My tone was mocking, my heart breaking.

"What?" He exhaled, his brows still drawn together.

I repeated the words again, enunciating each syllable. "C'mon, man, there's still time. Don't you remember your own words, Emmett? The ones you said to Edward when you were trying to get him out of bed and cover up the fact that he was fucking another girl?"

The color drained from his face as my heart dropped into my stomach. The tiny shred of hope that I'd misunderstood or misinterpreted vanishing into thin air.

"Bella-"

"You were supposed to have my back, Emmett! Mine. You were always supposed to have my back, you promised!"

"Happy birthday, Isabella!"

I scrunched up my face and pulled my ponytail from the hand he was using to yank on it. "You know I don't like people to call me that, Emmy Bear." I crossed my arms over my chest, my lip stuck out in a pout. He knew I hated that name, stupid boy.

"But you're all grown up; you're double digits now! You have to go by your full name! Just like how you promised when I turned ten you would stop calling me Emmy Bear." He pouted, a sour look on his face.

"How about this? You keep calling me Bella, and I'll stop calling you Emmy Bear, deal?" I spit on my hand and held it out to him. If we were making promises, spit had to be involved or it didn't count. He looked down at my hand before spitting on his own and happily shook my hand.

"And," I added, "you won't let anyone else call me Isabella either, right?"

He reached up and pulled on the end of my ponytail before taking off running. "I've got your back, Bella Bug. I'll always have your back!"

"Fuck." He growled, fisting his hair in his hands. "I had your back, Bella. I knew what seeing him would do to you. I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" My laugh was incredulous. "By lying to me?"

"I didn't know what else to do!" he shouted, his eyes wide. "I didn't want to see you hurt."

"Newsflash, Emmett, I'm fucking hurt. I'm broken, and I don't even have my oldest friend to lean on because he lied to me. Bros before hoes after all, huh?" I tried to steady my voice, hold on to my anger, but the truth was...my anger had already faded. It had slipped away and was replaced with the stabbing pain of betrayal. My face twisted as I fought to keep the tears at bay; my shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Bella Bug, you sure about this cat?" Emmett asked, leaning into my side as he eyed Edward.

"Shut up, Em." I hiccupped through my laugh as I tried to steady myself.

"I'm serious; if he messes up, it's pound town, baby." He raised his fist and smacked it into the palm of his other hand while attempting to look menacing. He kinda sucked at it since we were both working on our sixth...or maybe it was our eighth beer.

"No bros before hoes?" I dropped my voice and puffed out my chest. I'm sure I looked like a complete idiot, but that was okay, because so did Emmett.

"Never with you, Bella Bug. No way."

"How many times, Emmett? How many times have you covered for him?" Agony seared through me at the thought of Edward's hands and mouth touching and tasting someone else, then coming home to me.

"Never, Bella. Never. It wasn't like that." His eyes filled with tears, but I was too hurt to care. "You're my best friend, Bella."

"Then I'd hate to see what you do to your enemies." I spun on my heel and staggered past Rose, her face white, ashen. The last thing I heard before the door closed was Rose's angry voice.

"How could you do that? Who are you?"

I jumped in my car and shoved the key in the ignition, my eyes landing on the books on the seat beside me. Finals. Oh my God, I had the rest of my finals today. One break, just one. That's all I was asking for. But life didn't give you breaks; it didn't say "Hey fate, karma, or whatever the hell turns life upside down, let's cut this girl some slack; we've beat her down enough for a while."

I raced to my apartment and threw on some clothes before hauling ass to school. I'd never been more thankful for my internship as I was right then, because most of the material I'd be tested on, were things I did every day at my job.

My mind was unfocused and scattered, but my ability to shift gears and go into autopilot when it came to remembering things about work made it possible to get through all of my tests confidently.

Then I went to work and sailed on autopilot all over again. And when I walked through my apartment that night, I didn't even bother pretending I wasn't going to lose myself in a haze of alcohol, because that's exactly what was going to happen.

Missed call, Emmett. Missed call, Rose. Missed call, Edward. Missed text, same, same, same. Delete. Delete. Delete.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't stay here. Everything I knew, everyone I loved the most had managed to crush me all at once.

As soon as finals were done, I took off for Forks. I needed to get away, I needed to think, and I needed my dad. He'd stayed with me the entire time, listening patiently as I unloaded.

I told him everything― even the parts I knew he'd be displeased about, because we never kept secrets. He always said secrets were the fastest way to destroy a relationship, and since most of my relationships were in ruins at the moment, I couldn't afford to tarnish ours as well.

I rolled over on my side and stared at the wall of my childhood bedroom, studying the tiny cracks running near the crown molding and splitting the sheetrock. The tiny fissures were separating in every direction, broken apart from every angle, cracked, just like me.

"Bella, you wanna come down and have some lunch before you head back?" Dad asked leaning against the door jam, a look of concern etched in his features.

"Yeah, I guess I should get moving." I sighed, pushing off the bed.

"You know you can stay here a little longer if you want."

"I know. But I can't hide forever." I shrugged, anger making my jaw tense when tears began to pool in my eyes.

"Bella, I'm so sorry about everything. I just...I thought, well, it doesn't matter what I thought." He sniffed, before crossing the room and wrapping me in a hug.

"This is so hard, Daddy." I wrapped my arms around his back, fisting his shirt.

"I know, honey. I wish there was something I could say to make it better, something I could do, but we both know there isn't. Just know that I love you, and I'm here for you, whatever you need."

I sniffed and pulled away, nodding that I understood. "I've made a decision," I whispered, blinking back tears before meeting his eyes.

His face pinched as he stared at me. "You're leaving."

"I have to. I can't stay there anymore. Everywhere I look, everywhere I go, there's nothing but reminders. I thought I could stay, but after what happened with Emmett..." I trailed off, my mind fighting desperately to keep all the broken parts inside of me together, every piece that had been preyed upon and nearly destroyed.

"Do you know where?"

"I'm not sure. Chicago, maybe. I have to finish the last two weeks of my internship and tell Ms. Cope I won't be staying. After that, I'll have two weeks left on my lease. I applied to a few places yesterday, but I may just go...play it by ear."

"So one more month."

"One more month."

I wished I could stay in the bubble I'd cocooned myself in the past few days, to stay in Forks a little longer, but it was Sunday and I was due back to work tomorrow morning. And as much as I wanted to say the hell with it and just leave, I couldn't do that to Ms. Cope. Plus, I'd need her as a reference for any job I applied for.

"Whatever you need. I mean that."

We ate lunch and tried to talk about things other than the shambles my life had become, both of us ignoring how my phone vibrated constantly on the table beside me.

The drive back to Seattle was quiet. I'd learned something about myself during the last month―I hated silence. But I also hated the music here, because every station seemed to know the exact moment I'd be listening and would play one of Edward's songs.

Songs I had loved when he played in a dive bar on Thursday nights when we were twenty, songs from when we traveled all over the US for two years, and songs he'd written once I'd started back to school.

Four years of his heart and soul poured out into his love for music, his love for me, and I couldn't listen to a single note without dying inside.

The next morning, I steeled myself and climbed the steps to Ms. Cope's office. I wasn't looking forward to this particular conversation, but I wanted to give her enough time to find someone else to fill the position she had offered me.

"Are you sure about this, Bella?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think it's the best thing for me."

"We're sure going to miss you around here. Have you found anything yet? Any idea where you plan to go?"

"Chicago. I want to go to Chicago. They have some excellent smaller film production companies, and I hope that will make it a little easier for me to get my foot in the door."

"I have a few contacts out there, if you'd like me to make some phone calls for you. Check into a couple of places."

"That'd be great." I smiled.

After my conversation with Ms. Cope I tried to put all of my focus into getting through the next month, but it was difficult when time moved in slow motion and fast blurs. It sped up when I was having a good day, and slowed to a painful grinding stillness when I wasn't.

I grabbed my bottle of wine and fell onto the floor in front of my coffee table, staring at the cake my co-workers had given me earlier at my going away party. My internship was done and two more weeks were gone. Over. Everyone was full of smiles, well wishes, and positive predictions of my future, but all I felt was empty.

Lifting my gaze to the room, I took in the scene around me, boxes once again littering and cluttering every surface. Except this time, it wasn't with the excitement of moving into a home my boyfriend had bought for us. No, this time it was to prepare for a move halfway across the country to a city I didn't know, for a job I didn't have.

Two more weeks, and just like so many other things in my life, Seattle would become a part of my past. The thought hurt more than I was willing to admit.

Outwardly I may have seemed like I was handling everything so well, but inwardly, it was all a lie, because inside― my heart wasn't getting any better; it was getting worse.

People say that in time, wounds heal. Those people are either full of shit or have never had their heart ripped out. Because time, hasn't healed shit.

I shook my head and downed my wine, my eyes swollen and red. I was so tired and felt emotionally and physically drained. I grabbed the magazine I swore to throw away last week and looked at the cover. It was another trash mag that had a picture of Edward stumbling out of bar with that skank Alice hanging on his arm.

Masen's New Girlfriendwas splashed across the top with smaller print at the bottom Inside sources say it's the real deal. They're in love.

Edward had lost his shit when that magazine hit print. He had called my phone repeatedly, leaving message after message begging me to believe him when he said none of it was true.

I knew he hated Alice; I knew there was no way they were dating. At least the Edward I knew wouldn't date her, but this new Edward, the one who cheated on me...well, I couldn't be so sure. But he would date again, someone, somewhere, and as hurt and angry as I was, the thought still left me feeling nothing short of devastated.

Now the latest edition of the Edward Masen saga was back to blaming our break up for the newest drama. One of his loyal fans had somehow tracked down my address and decided to leave me a copy of a new magazine along with a note telling me to get my shit together and forgive him before something happens to him, because then...I'll be to blame.

There was no girl in this picture though. Not unless you count the female officer holding the door open as he was led into the back of the police car. Bar Fight Brawl was this headline, followed up with speculation of drug use since our split.

Edward was falling apart right in front of my eyes, but how could I be expected to pull him back together when I was barely managing to do it for myself? And I was so damn lonely; my entire universe had centered around Edward, Emmett, and Rose, and without them I felt like I was the only person in the world.

I wanted to smile, laugh, and flirt. I wanted to be held, told I was pretty, and know that someone wanted me.

And when I closed my eyes and pictured that moment of being wrapped in warm masculine arms, I wanted to look up and not see Edward's blazing green eyes staring down at me― but never had my heart, or my head, visualized anything else, and I had no idea how to stop.


A/N

So no cliffy! Yah... *shifts uncomfortably*

Anywho...Mid Night Cougar wrote an awesome rec for Glass House over on the Rob Attack blog, it's awesome! Thanks lady!

Perry Maxwell betas, thank God.

Joo, Rose, Modernsafri1, and Amber read this hot mess. O_oza, well she does a little bit of everything. And thanks to Edward's Eternal for pitching in with this chapter, it was all kinds of awesome of you.

See y'all soon!

~Liv