I woke some time later to the sound of my cell phone beeping. I heard two familiar voices in the kitchen. Wait. Make that three familiar voices and one not so familiar voice. I sat up on the sofa and looked around my living room to where my phone was lit up on the table. I checked the message. Just one from the phone company. I looked toward the kitchen and saw Alice through the door way. I decided to go and join my (uninvited) guests. I made my way toward the kitchen and everyone stopped talking when I managed to clatter the only pot plant in the apartment to the ground. Way to make a grand entrance I thought to myself. I didn't realise it, but I was staring right at Edward.

"Uh…err…Alice invited me over…" he trailed off.

"Oh. Umm. Okay. Yeah. Sorry," I mumbled incoherently.

"It's true," Alice murmured. Why did everyone keep thinking that I was angry that Edward was here? If anything, I wanted him here. As inappropriate as that sounded and probably was.

"Wait. Stop making excuses. Stop," I cut in before anyone else could speak. They all looked directly at me. What was with that? It isn't like I'm an activated bomb. Like I was about to explode. "What is going on?" I near yelled.

"Uh…you walked in here with a murderous expression on your face and you looked directly at Edward. I thought you didn't want him here," Alice explained.

"What? Of course I want him here," I paused and 4 pairs of eyes stared at me in shock. "What I meant to say is…why shouldn't he be here? He's basically part of the family now…" I said and looked around. Rosalie and Emmett were smiling at me, before they turned their attention back to each other, while Alice had a smirk on her face that I didn't like the look of and Edward looked at me with a warm and caring, happy smile on his face. How I wanted to kiss that face all over…ok. That was inappropriate. He is my professor, for Christ sake. Even if I did fuck him on his living room floor and every moment I think about how I want to do it again and again and again…so as I can remember it…it was no way to think of a lecturer; a mentor. But still, as inappropriate as it all was, I still couldn't block the thoughts and mental images from my mind. I shook my head clear of those thoughts, while my cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. Edward's face had a knowing smirk on it – like he knew what I was thinking. And I didn't like that thought. I decided to ignore him and I faced toward Emmett.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, fully aware of Edward's eyes travelling my body.

"I just came to check up on you. Make sure you really are okay."

"Yeah. I am. See," I said as I shot Edward a quick warning look. "Fine," I said, turning my attention straight back to Emmett and giving him a fake smile.

"Ok. If you say so, Bells."

"Yeah. Well. We can't undo it, can we?" I started before I turned to Edward. I had had enough of his longing stares in this moment. It was getting awkward now. I took a step toward him and poked my finger at him as I spoke. "You are my professor. Stop looking at me," I told him before I turned back to Emmett. "Have you heard from mum today, yet?" I asked him.

"Uh. Yeah. She's surviving," he told me sadly. I could feel Edward still looking at me in a way that made my panties very wet. The man was impossible.

"You know, I think we have to go," Alice cut in, grabbing Emmett and Rosalie's arms.

"We do?" Emmett asked, before Alice glared at him. "Oh. Yeah. We do."

"Bye Bella," Rosalie smiled sadly at me before she went and whispered something to Edward.

"See ya, Bells," Emmett said, bringing me in for a giant bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Talk to you soon," I nodded. "We're all gonna be ok," he assured me. Alice took me in for a hug after that.

"I'm here for you. Always," she said to me, before releasing me.

"I know," I mumbled sadly. I could deal with the death part just fine. It was all the sympathy that got to me. I walked everyone to the door, but Edward stayed in my kitchen. Did he not get the gist of what everyone else was doing? After everyone (except pain in my ass in the kitchen) had left, I walked into my living room and neatened the magazines atop my table. I heard Edward standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room and I chose to ignore him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he walked up behind me.

"Fine," I muttered. All I wanted to do was jump into his arms and stay there forever. But I couldn't do that. We couldn't be that fairytale happily ever after couple. We couldn't be a couple at all. It was against the rules. Against my rules that I had set myself.

"Bella. You don't have to be so brave all the time," he told me sweetly.

"What would you know?"

"I know. Bella. Trust me. I know," I turned and faced him and he looked so sincere and so sad. "Sit down," he offered nicely. I just nodded and sat on the sofa. He sat down next to me and took my hand in his, stroking his thumb over it gently.

"Carlisle and Esme…well…they're my adoptive parents. They're actually my aunt and uncle," he began.

"I don't understand."

"My real parents; Elizabeth and Edward Masen…well…they died in a tragic car accident when I was 4 years old."

"Oh, Edward. I am so sorry."

"I didn't deal with it at all well. I rebelled against everyone. I thought everyone was out to get me. I didn't speak to anyone for 2 months afterwards. I was sent to psychologists, but the only thing that helped me was books. I fell in love with great literature works, hence what I do for a living now."

"Wow. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. I feel awful now."

"Don't. You didn't know. It isn't your fault. And I didn't tell you so as I could gain your sympathies. I told you so as you could understand that I've been there and now I'm here to help. If that's okay with you?" he asked me sincerely. I felt the tears escape from my eyes and I knew I wasn't going to stop them. I looked up at him through my tears after a few moments.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"About what?"

"About this. About us," I said sadly.

"Bella. There is a small problem that I have."

"You're married?!" I screamed, moving across the room faster than I would have thought possible.

"No. No, no, no," he chuckled slightly.

"It's not funny," I scolded him.

"Come and sit back down," I did as I was asked. He took my hand in his again, and kissed it softly. His lips lingered for a few moments longer than I would have considered appropriate, but I ignored that, because the feel of his soft lips on my skin was the height of any pleasure I had ever felt.

"So," I started, breaking the silence. "What's your problem?"

"Do you promise you won't freak out if I tell you?"

"I promise," I spoke sincerely. I noticed his thumb stopped caressing the skin on the back of my hand, but I didn't take my eyes away from the carpet on the floor.

"Bella? Will you look at me?" he asked. I didn't. I couldn't make myself move my head. His hand that wasn't holding mine came up to my cheek, and turned my head so I was looking straight into his emerald eyes.

"Bella?"

"Yes?"

"I am in love with you." I just sat and stared straight back into his eyes. He was in love? With me?

"What do you mean?" I finally found my voice.

"I mean I can't stop thinking about you. When I'm with you, I feel like I could fly, and the moment I'm away from you I miss you more than you could ever imagine. You're absolutely beautiful in a way I have never seen beauty before. You take my breath away with your smile, and when I hear your laugh…" – he shook his head, smiling – "It is so hard to be around you without touching you. My heart beats faster whenever I see you in the lecture hall, and sometimes I'm convinced everyone can hear it's erratic sound. It's not all physical, though. I think you are the warmest, kindest, sweetest person that I will ever have the chance to know. You're the kind of person who's world could be crashing down and you would still put on a smile, or sympathise with a co-worker. You love your family very much, and welcome new people with open arms…do you see what I am getting at?" he finished.

"You love me," I nodded as a tear made it's way across my cheek.

"More than you could imagine," he said, his emotion-filled eyes stared straight back into mine and before I knew it I was leaning toward him. My lips were slightly parted in anticipation. He moved closer toward me as he closed the remaining gap between us. He moved ever so slowly and my breathing hitched in expectation. In the last moment before our lips were to come crashing together, I moved my head. His lips rested softly on my cheek for a moment. What was I thinking? We couldn't do this. We couldn't be who I wanted us to be.

"Sorry," Edward mumbled against my cheek, before he pulled away.

"I can't do this. What am I saying? We can't do this. We can't be that couple. We can't be a couple. It just…it won't work. These things never work," I said, disappointment laced through my voice.

"How can you be so sure?"

"We can't take that risk. I care deeply for you. I might possibly love you, but I will have to think about it. All those things you said about me…I feel the same about you. But we can't do it. I can't even fool myself…how do you think we're going to fool everyone else?"

"What do you mean 'fool yourself'?"

"I tried so hard to tell myself I didn't have feelings for you. That what happened between us was just a big mistake, but I give up. It's too exhausting."

"A big mistake?"

"I fucked you on your lounge room floor when I was drunk. If that's not a mistake, then I don't know what is." It hurt to say it, but it was true…wasn't it?

"Bella. That wasn't a mistake. For me, anyway. To me it was right. To me it was perfection," he said as his thumb caressed my cheek. I got lost in his eyes again and I began to lean closer to him again, before I realised what I was doing.

"Stop it. Stop saying those things. This is hard enough for me as it is. And then you go and say the sweetest things I've ever heard and I can't take it. You come here and tell me that you love me and you tell me that drunken sex on your lounge room floor wasn't a mistake and you touch me in a way I have never even dreamed of. So softly and tenderly. It's enough to make me want to take you right there and then. But I can't, because you're my professor. You're my mentor. We can't be in a relationship. We can't have these feelings toward each other," I took a deep breath before the next part, that would break me. "I would appreciate it if you would leave now, and not contact me or speak to me again, with the exception of a student and a professor speaking," as I finished, the tears that I tried so hard to hold back over flowed from my eyes and I looked away from his painstakingly beautiful face, before anything could happen. He stood up and turned toward me.

"You know where to find me if you need me. For anything. Anything at all," he said as sadness creeped out from his sullen voice. I stood up too. The least I could do was walk him to the door. We walked in silence toward the door, and he opened it slowly. Before he stepped out into the hallway he turned once more toward me. He leaned toward me and kissed my cheek, lingering a little longer than was necessary, but I let it pass, because the contact between my cheek and his chin was pure delight, and I didn't want it to end. A moment later he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine and looked directly into my eyes.

"I love you," he muttered, before he turned and went toward the elevator. I let the tears run down my face as I closed my door. Sobs escaped from my lips as I leaned against the door and slid down toward the floor, resting my face on my knees and letting the tears flow until I couldn't cry anymore. Hours must've passed, because it had been dark outside for a long while, and I was starting to feel hungry…well…I should have been, if the thought of eating didn't make me sick to my stomach.

A/N: It's gonna be a short AN, because I need to get this chapter out to you guys. Life has been so hectic lately. Which is why I haven't had a chance to get this chapter out to you. I'm sorry. I apologize 100 million times over. I hope you forgive me, and still take 2 minutes to review. I LOVE reviews. I'm a review-a-holic. They make me REALLY happy, and they really do help me to get chapters out. Anyone who writes FF should know this. Anyways. That's all I have to say. Review, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, or at any stage during the story. It makes my day. =] and thanks to everyone who added the story to their alerts. I get so excited when I get new emails saying that you guys are liking my writing, which is all that matters, really, isn't it?

Ok. Shutting up now. =]

Xoxo

Keet =]