Chapter 10

I also wanted to address the fact that this story is now over 100 views, has nearly 300 followers, and about 140 favorites! Now, you might not think that's a whole bunch, but for me, it is! Thank you guys so much, I really like writing when I have the chance to, and receiving such great feedback is what keeps me writing more. Anyway, enjoy!

Edward looked entirely too serious as he said this and instantly, I felt the anxiety creep up my back. I nodded and he sighed before running a hand through his ragged hair before talking, although… I really wish he hadn't when he began to speak.

"Okay, so… I didn't leave my phone at my apartment, Bella," he began and I immediately frowned. He hadn't left his phone? For two weeks he was gone… yet he had his phone the whole time? "What are you talking about, Edward?"

"I didn't leave my phone at my apartment when I went back home, but I just… didn't know how to tell you without upsetting you," he continued. "When my brother called me, saying that Kate tried to commit suicide, I was hysterical. Unhinged. I couldn't think clearly for those two weeks and I just kind of holed up at my parent's home until I was ready to come out. I was a coward, I know, but I was also falling apart at seeing Kate like that. It was all I could think about, and I'm truly sorry for just now telling you this, Bella. I was humiliated, but I want to be honest with you."

I just stared at him, letting what he said really soak in. I wasn't expecting it – not from Edward. He was perfect – is supposed to be perfect, anyway, yet just now I realize how unrealistic and unfair labeling him as that is. I haven't known him for long, and him leaving without a word and having a way to not only contact me, but Rose and Emmett, it makes me realize just how true that really is.

"You couldn't be bothered to call, just once? Or shoot off a small text? I understand that you were upset and you have a huge reason to be, but you need to understand that we were worried about you," I told him, frowning. I expected to feel anger, but there was none – well, not a whole bunch, at least. There was still some annoyance simmering inside of me, somewhere deep and shut off, but for now, I felt a little hurt. He was in so much pain during that time, yet I couldn't comfort him like I should have been able to, like he's been able to with my Maggie and Tanya situation.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, looking down shamefully. "I really am, Bella. I understand if you'd like to not see me for a while."

I blinked once, then twice, confused as fuck. "Not see you for a while?" Isn't that what started this mess? "I'm not angry Edward, not really. I just wish you'd told me. No way could I have understood what you were going through, but I still could have been there for you." That wasn't entirely true - I was livid somewhat, but I had to be sensitive to his situation.

"You're right, which is why I really needed to tell you," he said, a small smile on his face, but I wasn't letting him off that easily. I held up a and and finished my jumbled thought process. "I'm not completely angry about what happened, Edward, because it must have been horrible for you... but I am annoyed that you lied to me. I know we haven't put labels or anything on our relationship, but I need honesty. We can't work without it, and if you're able to just lie to me and keep it for almost a month, that speaks volumes." I sighed and rubbed my temples gingerly with one hand. I was hurt, but I didn't want Edward to go anywhere. I wanted us to be okay – whatever us is. I guess that's a little naive of me, especially with what happened in my previous relationship, but I wanted to try. "Just… promise that you won't lie to me again."

"I promise," he said. "I won't lie to you again."

"Good," I breathed, although my shoulders still felt weighed down and tense.

"The reason I didn't want to sleep with you is because of the fact that I didn't tell you everything," he shared. "It just felt wrong, you not knowing."

I nodded and took a moment to soak in everything he's told me. "I was annoyed when you wouldn't sleep with me," I said. "But I'm kind of glad you stopped us, for your reason and for the fact that we haven't even talked about our relationship yet. I'm not looking for a guy to just fuck around with – I want the full package. I want honesty and commitment and…" Love, eventually, but I didn't want to scare the guy away. "I can become clingy, just so you know. Like, really clingy, really fast."

"You can become clingy?" he repeated, stepping closer and my heart began to move a little faster. "Well I already am. I am literally so fixated with you, Bella, and I'm not sure if it's healthy how I'm feeling, but I don't want it to stop. You are quite possibly the most beautiful, funniest, down to earth girl I've ever met. And don't think for a second I don't want the full package either – because I definitely do."

I grinned, feeling a little bit of the weight of the situation being shredded away. "Is that your way of finally getting into my pants?" I teased. He chuckled and bent down so our lips were just barely touching, just a small tilt of the head away. "I'd consider it more as me putting my feelings out there, but sure, we can bonk as well."

"You just had to ruin the moment with that terrible word, huh?" I chastised, pushing him backwards gently with the tips of my fingers. He laughed and I went over to the counter where our sandwiches were to begin eating.

It's been about a week since Tanya left the hospital and admitted herself into a state funded rehab center. I still hate the decisions she's made in life and how they've so badly affected Maggie, but I could never hate her. Knowing each other for so long and knowing that she's more than the drugs she's succumbed to is what keeps my faith so effortlessly able to hold onto.

Maggie had been asking about Tanya, so I called the center and asked Tanya if that would be okay, but she hesitantly said no. She explained to me that she wasn't herself and she didn't want Maggie to see her this way. This was disheartening for Maggie to hear, but she was able to understand why Tanya decided what she did. As a way to get her mind off of Tanya, I planned a trip to the aquarium with Edward, but made sure it was a surprise for both him and Maggie.

"You just love taking me to where smelly animals live, don't you?" he teased me once we made it to the aquarium. I just shrugged with a tiny, mirthful smile on my face.

Maggie was beyond excited to be at the aquarium – I swear this girl would become a vet one day. We first went to the Underwater Dome, where she didn't hesitate to run up to the slanted glass and peering up at the sea life in excitement. "This is so cool!" she gushed, her eyes trailing a huge, ugly fish as it swam sluggishly through the water.

Edward and I sat down on a bench right behind her and I gazed at her wide-eyed wonder and eagerness with my own happiness. "Alice was angry with me for not calling the police," I told Edward. I felt him shift beside me. "I'm glad I didn't, because Maggie loves her mom and Tanya loves Maggie… she just needs help."

"Hmm," he hummed. "I'm glad you didn't, either. That would have been a lot for her."

"Exactly," I said, turning to face him. We were close since the benches were so small. Mindful of the little children milling around and the family environment, I leaned forward quickly and pecked his lips. Edward chuckled lowly and before I could pull away fully, he copied my actions and pressed his lips to mine, only, he didn't pull back.

"Guys! Stop kissing and look at this shark," Maggie exclaimed. Edward and I were laughing as we pulled apart and followed her bossy demands. She showed us a hammer-head shark, silvery fishes and the colorful corals decorating the bottom of the tank. Maggie was so excited, and it hurt to think she was going through so much with her mother. I would come here every day if it kept that wide, infectious smile on her face.

We eventually moved on from the dome and visited the other exhibits around the aquarium. I didn't think I would like the aquarium so much, but it was great. Edward even had me touch a sting ray, despite my protest, but arguing with both him and Maggie was futile.

Around twelve, when we were visiting the moon jellies and octopi at the Life of a Drifter exhibit, Maggie announced that she was hungry.

"Okay, we can eat at the café," I said. "Say bye to the octopus and other weird creatures."

Maggie laughed. "I think the mood jellies are cool," she insisted. I grinned at her. "You think all animals are cool, Mags."

"Bella?"

I spun around at the familiar voice and gasped. My last boyfriend, Mike, stood there with a woman and a baby in a stroller who looked almost exactly like Mike as a baby. My eyebrow rose high into my hairline when I thought about how long it's been since we were together. It hadn't even been a whole year.

I'm pretty sure that this was his baby, and the girl hanging from his arm was the same who'd been fucking him in our bed, but he still smiled at me like we left on friendly terms. "Hey, Bell. It's been a long time, huh?"

"Uh… maybe a little longer than I realized," I said, my eyes dropping to the kid. Mike rolled his eyes. "Listen. I'm sorry for what I did, but… it looks like we both moved on." His eyes landed on Edward, who was standing by with his hands stuffed into his front pockets. Mike crouched down next to Maggie and held a hand up. "Hey, munchkin! How's it been?"

Instead of replying, Maggie just stared at Mike with a sour face. I tried not to laugh out loud and squeezed her shoulder. Maggie never liked Mike – not even when we dated.

"It's been nice seeing you, Mike," I said, ending the conversation.

We left him crouching on the floor and headed in the direction of the café. Edward touched my arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine," I assured him, happy with how true that statement is. I was in such a funk after Mike and I's relationship, but I'm glad it's over. I hadn't had many relationships before him, but none of them compared to how I feel for Edward.

Mike is a liar and cheat. I'm pretty sure that baby is his, meaning he was conceived even before I knew he was…" I reminded myself Maggie was here. "…bonking another girl."

"I feel like we've used that word too much now," he snorted.

Chuckling, I agreed, "Yeah, you're right.

After the aquarium and work, me, Edward and Maggie headed back to my house. She was so tired – I needed to find someone who could watch her on school nights when Alice and I are at work. Either that or I'd need to ask Rose if I could switch shifts so I'm only working when Maggie is at school.

After putting Maggie into her bed, Edward and I immediately headed to my room. Alice had given us a knowing look when we past her room and I just giggled like the seventeen-year-old girl I currently felt like.

We didn't speak after the door closed behind us. The only thing we were currently capable of was stumble into the bed and paw at the clothes encasing our bodies. Frenzied, our shirts and my bra seemed to fly off at the same time, which was closely followed by kicking our pants off and shimmying out of our underwear.

We were finally naked together, completely bare for the other to gaze at. Time seemed to slow at that moment when we both drunk up each other's presence and the energized vibe in the room. Edward was the first to move, taking slow and deliberate steps towards me until his hands latched onto the top of my pelvic bone, causing a shiver to somewhat violently ripple through my body. I responded by bringing my arms up and wrapping them around his neck, which he craned when leaning down to press a feverish kiss to my lips.

We fell backwards onto the bed and Edward's hand crept below. The sudden sensation of him shoving two fingers inside had me gasping and arching off of the bed. "Fuck," I hissed, forcing my eyes open and staring down at his two fingers spearing my center at a sensual pace and his thumb lazily circling around my clit.

My hands grasped at anything and everything as my senses heightened and pleasure just about shocked my body. I tried to fist the sheets, grasped the ends of Edward's hair for a moment, sunk my fingers into my hair, but it all wasn't enough. I sought out Edward's cock, hard and standing proudly just a few inches above my stomach.

We formed a steady pattern – I'd stroke up and down, he'd push in and out. Every part of this moment was so intense; I felt my whole being swallowed in love-laced passion and need. Not even moment later, I felt a tiny ball gather in my stomach before bursting so ferociously that it made my toes curl, my hand pause, and my back to shoot off the bed in unbounded pleasure.

Before I could take a moment to think or breathe, Edward had yanked my hand from his cock and thrust inside me. A scream had wound up in my throat, but he trapped the sound with his mouth as he greedily kissed me. My legs snaked around his waist and his hips hammered forward into mine.

We were having crazy, unrestrained sex that had the bed rocking with our frantic movements and creak from the vicious force. Edward was panting in my mouth, not really even kissing me anymore, and the unmistakable feeling of that wound-up ball in the pit of my stomach had me tingling all over.

"Shit, shit, shit," I breathed, my hips lifting up slightly off the bed in an attempt to get closer.

"I'm there," Edward murmured. "Fuck! I can feel you, Bella... so hot… fuck." If he said anything else, I couldn't hear it over the absolute, thudding sounding in my ear. Edward was too consumed in his own pleasure to keep his lips on mine, so I slapped a hand over my mouth as my orgasm ripped through me in a way that had me concerned that my scream hadn't been so restrained behind my hand, but I wasn't able to care at that point.

"Condom," Edward sputtered before I felt him pull away from me. I whimpered at the sudden emptiness I felt consume my body and, almost automatically, my legs snapped closed as I continued to ride out my orgasm. Edward gripped his cock with an eager hand and began pumping his release all over my stomach and leg.

"Holy shit," I panted, feeling aroused all over again. But Edward looked spent as he practically fell over beside me and threw an arm over his head. "Holy shit," he echoed.

I laughed and tossed my leg over his. "That was unbelievable," I whispered.

"It was," he agreed readily and removed his arm. "Fuck, Bella. I knew it would be amazing, but…"

"Fuck," I finished for him, chuckling lightly. He grinned at me with those gorgeous green eyes and perfect teeth and I couldn't help but smother his lips in kisses. Down the hall, I could hear Alice yell at us, "Frickin' animals!" but I could honestly care less. In this moment, it was only me and him.

Edward and I laid in bed, chests rising and falling steadily after another round of sex – this time slow and sensual in a way that had me quivering from not just the pleasure, but the palpable passion, too. Was it normal to be falling so fast for a guy I've only known for two months?

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Edward said while rolling out of bed. I nodded and watched as his naked ass sauntered towards my bathroom, giggling at the exaggerated swing of his hips. "Very sexy!" I called out, which was followed by loud laughter.

I stretched and turned onto my stomach when I heard a ping somewhere under the bedsheet. I dove my hand under and grabbed Edward's phone, which must have fallen out of his pants in our haste to get them off. He had a few messages from Jasper, but the one that was just sent was from Kate. I immediately went to sit the phone down, not wanting to invade his privacy, but another message dinged in, and then another.

My curiosity was a stubborn asshole, so I picked the phone back up and looked at the messages.

Call me ASAP!

Jasper told me where you've been – where you've REALLY been

Don't ignore me

I frowned as I read the messages sent by her. After casting a cautious look towards the bathroom door, I then began to scroll down to the previous messages from Jasper.

I told Kate, Edward. Enough is enough. You can't just forget about your problems.

Kate's being irrational again – call me as soon as you can

Mom and dad are worried about you too

Did you even tell Bella? How are you lying to both of them?

"Bella?"

I gasped and the phone practically flew out of my hand in my haste to get rid of it. Edward stood by the bathroom door, his eyebrows creased considerably. He stalked over to the bed and grabbed his phone that had landed somewhere by the footboard, scrolling through the messages displayed across his screen.

The room suddenly was so unnervingly silent and uncomfortable. I gripped the sheets tight to my chest as the realization that there were more secrets and more lies that Edward hasn't revealed. I was so stupid.

Fun fact? I'm not a fan of sex scenes, so that scene might be the only one in this story, or just one of several sex scenes.

Anyhow, what did you think? ANOTHER cliffhanger? Following one I just gave you? Hehe, well overwhelm me with reviews and I think that might be enough incentive for me to update super early again! Other than that, for real now, updates will happen not as frequent. Classes for me are starting up again tomorrow, so I'll be extremely busy living the super fun, stress free college life *insert sarcastic tone*. Don't forget to review! Thanks!