A/N: This is much longer than the other chapters, but I don't think you all will have a problem with that. After all, making amends is on the agenda.

CHAPTER 10

Bella

"Alright, class, let's get started. You have twenty minutes to read the passage and attempt the questions given below and then we'll discuss them. I might ask a few of you to share their answers with the rest of us," I warned. "I don't mind if you get it wrong, but not trying is not an option, okay?"

A murmur of quiet agreement followed before they bent their heads to get to work. I didn't miss the eye-rolls I got from a couple of kids, but I ignored them for now. I'd have my chance to test them once the twenty minutes were up.

I walked back to my desk and took my seat. I tried to focus on the workbook lying in front of me but could only manage to flip pointlessly through the pages. My mind was too pre-occupied to pay attention to the task of rereading the passage I'd assigned to the kids.

It'd been a week since I'd walked out of Edward's home, pissed and frustrated at him, at myself, and everything in sight. I'd been a messed bundle of emotions by the time I'd gotten home. Desperately in need some time to clear my thoughts, I'd left my phone with Rose and locked myself away in my room.

When she'd told me the next morning that Edward had called to apologize, I hadn't been surprised. It would've taken him just a few seconds of conversation with his daughter to figure out that his assumptions had been wrong. Rose had reluctantly conveyed the entire exchange to me. After having witnessed my plight far too often in the past few months, I knew she was of the opinion that I shouldn't waste my time chasing Vanessa's affection. But she had told me everything, including the fact that Edward had sounded distraught on the phone. She'd respected me enough to lend her support without telling me what to do. Rosalie Hale was always loyal to a fault, and I loved her for it.

But there was one aspect where the two of us differed.

She looked at things from the perspective of being either right or wrong whereas my kaleidoscope was perpetually tinged with shades of grey. She couldn't fathom seeing Edward's treatment of me as anything but unpardonable.

And I . . . I didn't know where I stood.

On one hand, I knew he's been under as much stress about our situation as I have been. In a way, he's probably been worse off—torn between two people he loves, yet knowing that there was only one right choice he could make. I wanted to talk to him, needed to talk to him to figure out what was going on in his mind that had made him lash out at me. He'd gone on and on without letting me explain my side—that was what had incited my anger.

But the part that truly hurt was his accusation that I had been thinking of myself as opposed to Vanessa's betterment. After everything I'd done to carve a place for myself in his daughter's life, those words had wounded me deeply. It'd taken me the past six days to cope with that pain.

There'd been no communication between us in that time. The day after our argument, I'd happened to catch Vanessa's eyes outside the school building after the final bell had rung. She'd given me a small smile, raising her hand in a wave that I'd returned. She hadn't approached me though, and I was grateful for the reprieve. I would've had no idea what to say to her. She'd made her way toward the exit, while I'd rushed back inside, unwilling to face Edward if he'd been there to pick her up. He'd respected Rose's orders and hadn't made any attempt to contact me since the series of unreturned calls that fateful night. I knew he was waiting for me to make the next move.

I hadn't called him back because I hadn't been ready. I knew any conversation between us before I'd come to terms with everything in my own head would probably lead to another argument—something neither of us needed.

This morning, I'd finally woken up feeling much better about myself, confident that I hadn't done anything to deserve his inconsiderate words. I'd also tried to accept the fact that he must've had his reasons for behaving the way he did. Throughout this ordeal, he'd been steadfast in his support for me, even as he tried to balance it with keeping the peace with Vanessa. There must've been something that had triggered his outburst.

Until I knew what it was, I couldn't make a call on where we stood. I'd needed the space, but now, I was tired of the uncertainty. I tucked my hair behind my ear and sighed, feeling a little more confident about the decision I'd made.

I was going to call Edward tonight.

Rose had simply nodded when I'd told her so over breakfast this morning, but I didn't let it discourage me.

Until we talked, we'd never know if we could get past this.

The idea of being done with Edward left me breathless with agony. The more rational part of me though couldn't think of making any decision until I'd gotten some answers.

I looked at my watch and realized that my twenty-minute deadline had ended two minutes ago.

"Time's up!" I called and rose to my feet. "Let's begin—" A knock at the door was followed by a soft voice that interrupted me. I turned to find one a familiar face at the threshold.

"Miss Swan? May I come in?"

"Of course, Jane." I walked over to her, smiling when she took a step inside. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?"

She rocked on the balls of her feet and grinned at me. "Bathroom break. I just had to give you something."

"Oh, okay," I told her, holding out my hand.

I was puzzled when she dropped a small, gift-wrapped square in my palm. I was completely astounded when she'd spun around and run away before I could say another word.

I walked back to my desk in a haze and placed the little box on it. I stared at the box for a moment, unable to understand what'd just happened.

Jane was a student in Vanessa's class, the one I'd taught for almost six months last year. While there had been a few kids prone to bouts of strange behavior, I'd never believed Jane to be one of them. I couldn't imagine the motivation behind her actions. Even if she'd been here to give me a gift for some inexplicable reason, why had she run away without letting me respond?

The sound of a chair shifting on linoleum pulled me out of my thoughts. I spun around, startled to realize I'd forgotten about the thirty first-graders in the room who were now looking at me with varying degrees of surprise and curiosity. I cleared my throat and quickly grabbed my copy of the textbook.

"I'm sorry about that. Let's get back to work."

If I'd thought that would be the end of it, I couldn't have been more wrong.

The rest of the day passed with a repetition of the strange occurrences. Every half an hour or so, one of the kids from the second grade would drop in, hand me a little box identical to the first one, and dash away before I could question them.

By the time recess rolled around, I'd collected fourteen boxes from my ex-students. Once my kids rushed out to the playground, I finally found a moment to satisfy my burning curiosity. I tore into the gift wrap and opened the first box to find two things inside—a folded piece of paper and a piece of chocolate. I put them both on the table and realized it was a Hershey's kiss. I couldn't resist opening it up and popping it into my mouth while I unfolded the chit.

"A?" I muttered out loud. There was simply that one alphabet letter written on it. I turned it around to find the number 2 scribbled in a corner and no other clue as to what the hell was going on.

One by one, I opened each box to find the same thing hidden inside. The chocolates were constant. But the letters in the chits were different each time, as were the numbers on the back. There were a few repetitions too, so I knew they weren't spelling out the entire alphabet.

I didn't realize how much time had passed as I tried to puzzle it out in my head until the bell had rung. I muttered a curse as I belatedly realized I could've used the free time to go over to Mrs. Marshall's class and figure out what was going on. But as my students made their way back into the room, I knew I'd lost my chance.

The second half of the day wasn't much different. Sixteen more kids left behind just as many tiny boxes for me. After a while, I didn't even bother to stop them. Clearly, they weren't going to answer my questions, and for some reason, I had the strange feeling that I needed to bide my time. Whatever was happening, it would make sense eventually.

Or so I hoped anyway.

Once I'd bid the final student goodbye, I nearly ran back to my desk. I fished out the unopened boxes from my drawer, grabbed the chits I'd already revealed from my purse, and spread them all out. I stared at them for a long moment, the mess of letters making no sense.

My eyes roamed across the surface over and over. One of the chits was creased in such a way that I could see a number written on the other side, and it was then that the realization struck me.

The numbers had a purpose.

Looking back, it seemed simple enough. But my brain had been too muddled to figure it out sooner. I quickly arranged the chits in increasing order of the numbers they bore. Once I'd finished, I stepped back and turned them around one by one.

My breath caught in my throat once I reached the tenth one.

I AM SO SORRY

I swallowed thickly, ignoring the way my fingers shook as I continued my journey until the last bit of paper had been turned. My vision blurred, my eyes misting as they read the words laid out on the table.

I AM SO SORRY BELLA

PLEASE FORGIVE ME

I lifted a hand to my trembling lips, the other one clutching the edge of my desk so tightly that my fingers ached.

"Edward," I whispered. "Edward."

He'd done this . . . of course he had. But the kids . . .

Had Vanessa helped him?

I felt a soft touch on my hand as small fingers gently pried mine away from the wood. I looked down to find Vanessa's hazel eyes trained intently on my face.

"Hi," she whispered, and her lips curled up into a smile.

"Hi," I returned hoarsely.

My eyes prickled with moisture at the tenderness in her expression—something I'd never seen until today. She tugged at my hand, leading me toward the door. I was stunned, overwhelmed, and helpless to do anything but follow.

Vanessa walked confidently, never letting go of my hand. I could only look on in wonder as she led us to the gate. Only then did her steps falter. She stopped and turned to look at me with hesitation writ plainly on her face.

"He told me to let you choose and not to force you to come, but Bella, please. Please come," she requested and squeezed my hand.

I frowned, not completely understanding what she was saying. She drew in a deep breath before pulling me forward. We walked beyond the gate and that was when I saw him.

He stood a few feet away from us, leaning against his car which was parked to the side.

"Will you?" Vanessa asked me quietly. "Will you listen?"

I took another moment to stare at Edward, sensing his nerves in the way his hair was sticking up in all directions, the movement of his shuffling feet, and the tense posture of his body, as though he was having a hard time holding himself back from rushing closer to us.

I glanced at Vanessa and nodded once. Her little face brightened immediately. She wasted no time in leading me over to where Edward stood. She released my hand once we were close enough to be able to talk. With a hopeful smile aimed in my direction, she stepped back and made her way toward the other side of the car.

Giving us some privacy.

Edward didn't waste any time in getting down to business.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry. I was completely out of line. I should've listened to you instead of reacting so badly. I made a huge mistake by saying those things to you. I'm really sorry. I can't even explain . . ." his voice trailed off into silence, while I simply stared at him.

I waited for a beat, wondering if he would say something more. When he remained silent, I decided to speak up.

"That's it?" I asked him, my voice rising in time with my eyebrows as I gaped at him in disbelief. "That's all I get? Sorry?"

He was taken aback. "I—uh, I don't kno—"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You walked into the house as though you were armed and ready for battle. You laid in on me without letting me give any explanation to clear up your misunderstanding. I think I deserve to know what made you behave that way. I can't think of anything I did to make you so angry even before you listened to a word from my end."

"You're right," he agreed quietly. "You deserve to know, but I didn't say anything because I didn't want you to think I was making excuses. I wasn't angry when I came home—just tired and frustrated, but you had no role to play in that."

"Good to know. That's reassuring, but give me some credit here. I think I can make the distinction between an excuse and an explanation." I lifted my chin and held his gaze. "I'm going to give you a chance to explain your behavior, Edward. I'm willing to listen."

He winced when he caught the implication behind my phrasing. He didn't acknowledge it through words though, instead choosing to use them to tell me about what had gone on with him that day. Mindful of the fact that Vanessa was close by, he didn't go into details, but gave me a brief account of the patient he'd lost—a young woman who'd been robbed of life too soon and her fiancé, who'd lost everything he'd held dear to his heart.

It wasn't the first time I'd seen that shroud of pain veil his eyes; I'd spent several tender moments comforting him out of it in the past. He'd told me he'd never been comfortable expressing those emotions at the hospital. It was only in the quiet darkness of my room that he could allow himself to take time to accept and then move on from the harsh, but unavoidable realities of his job. The quiet, mournful tenor of his voice had always hit something deep within me, his pain resonating through my being as though it were my own.

Today was no different.

"And apart from that, there was . . . well, everything we'd discussed earlier in the day," he said, looking at me with deep meaning in his eyes. I nodded to let him know I understood he was talking about his guilt for neglecting his daughter. "I was blaming myself, Bella. Not you. Never you. I spent all day thinking I had to make sure Nessie was alright. In order to do that, I knew I had to confront her once and for all. And if she . . . if she still disapproved of . . . us, I couldn't bear to think of what that would mean," he sighed. "I had all of these thoughts nagging me throughout the day. The only hope I had was that maybe you'd gotten through to her somehow. Maybe the problems she had in class could be sorted out by a little extra help from you."

"And you came back to find us watching a movie together," I finished for him, shaking my head. "Still, Edward, you should've listened to what I was saying. The things you said to me . . ."

He didn't stop this time, taking a deliberate step closer until I had to tip my head up to look at him. He took my hand in both of his and held it tightly.

"Bella, even if you don't believe a word of anything else I told you, believe this—I didn't mean any of it," he murmured, his eyes burning with the intensity that rang through in his voice. "I know you would always put my daughter's well-being over anything else, just like you have been doing since you met her. Please trust me when I say I know that. You've let me treat her as my first priority without any complaints. You've treated her as your first priority. What I said in the heat of the moment was thoughtless nonsense. Words can't describe how grateful I am for the way you've handled everything that has happened in the past few months."

A few tears welled up in my eyes and trailed down my cheeks. He wiped them off with a gentle brush of his fingers.

"I love you, Bella. I love you, and I hate that I've hurt you so much. I hate that I can't take it back." He swallowed thickly. "I know an apology is not enough, but it's all that I have to offer . . . along with a promise to do my absolute best to ensure this never happens again. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I'm so sorry."

He inched another hesitant step closer to me, watching me carefully for a reaction, I guessed. I didn't know what he found, but it must not have been discouraging because he reached out to pull me into his arms. His hands splayed over my back, his warm breath brushed the strands of my hair, and I let my eyes close, sagging in his embrace. I couldn't help but hug him back, my face nestled in the dip of his shoulder.

"Oh, Bella," he whispered against my temple. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Please forgive me. Please, Bella. I'm really sorry."

All the fight in me melted away as his words, spoken in the most remorseful of tones overtook my senses. I didn't want to fight anymore. It felt as though we'd already wasted too much time fighting one battle or another. His words had shattered me to pieces, and here he was, offering me the ones that could put me back together again.

I didn't have the strength to resist them.

I knew we had a long way to go. I knew we had things to work out. But in that moment, when he was holding me close, none of it seemed impossible.

"We need to talk about this more," I mumbled into his shirt.

He tightened his hold on me. "I know."

"You really hurt me, Edward. You know I've always seen Vanessa as—" I choked out, but he didn't let me finish.

"I know, sweetheart. I know."

I pulled back to look into his eyes as a couple of tears escaped from mine. "If we're going to do this, you need to trust me with her. You need to know I would never want anything but the best for her. You can't question that again, Edward."

"I never did," he replied hoarsely. "Not until a moment when I was completely messed up and lost in my own mind. It'll never happen again."

"I might do something wrong. I'm not infallible. But you have to talk to me about it instead of lashing out. Listen to me before you decide I'm wrong."

He nodded twice. "I know. I promise." He raised his hand to my face, grazing his fingertips along the curve of my jaw. "I know we'll need to work these things out, but I know we can do it, sweetheart. You're . . . you're it for me. I'll do whatever it takes to make you feel comfortable with me, with us again. Just give me a chance, Bella. Please give me another chance." My eyes drifted shut when he pressed his forehead to mine. "Come home with us. Please come home."

A sigh shuddered past my lips, and my arms tightened around his neck.

"I love you," I whispered and opened my eyes.

His hands rose to frame my face as he pulled back and held my gaze. "Oh God, Bella. I love you so much." He leaned in and pressed his mouth to mine, our lips brushing gently at first, then growing bolder. My fingers fisted in his hair, while his wrapped around the small of my back, crushing me to his chest as we kissed. The taste of him, mingling with the salt of my tears made me tremble in his arms.

"Daddy? Bella?" Vanessa called tentatively, prompting us to break apart. A quiet chuckle escaped him, and my lips quirked up in response. "Why are you so quiet?"

Edward dipped his head to steal one last quick kiss before he allowed me to take a step back. He didn't let me get far though, wrapping an arm around my shoulders instead.

"Come out, Ness," he replied, and two seconds later, she was standing before us.

She peered at me through wide, hopeful eyes. "You forgive us?"

I smiled, nodded, and extended my hand toward her. She didn't hesitate to place her own in it, giving me a gentle squeeze. She beamed and bounced on her toes.

"Oh, I'm so happy! Thank you, Bella!"

"Thank you for the sweet gesture. I can't believe you did that. Was Mrs. Marshall in on it?"

"Well, yeah, she had to be to allow everybody to come to you one by one. I told her that Daddy and I needed to say sorry to you. She was happy to help!"

I shook my head. "I can hardly believe that you did that."

Edward placed a soft kiss to my forehead. "I wanted to apologize to you without crowding you, and this way . . . well, you had an out if you wanted it." He flashed me a timid smile. "The chocolate was Nessie's idea."

I turned to her with raised eyebrows, and she nodded eagerly. "That's right. Kisses are the best. I always have one when I'm feeling sad. I didn't want you to be upset, Bella, that's why I thought you needed them."

"It was perfect," I told her honestly. "Thanks for thinking of me."

She grinned and then turned to Edward. "Let's get out of here, Daddy! We need to go home. Oh, wait! Can we go to the diner first? I have a lot of things to show Bella. Please, Daddy, can we go?"

"If Bella doesn't mind, then sure."

I took one look at her pleading little face and gave in with a shrug. "Sure, Vanessa. I don't mind at all."

"Oh, no! No, no, no," she chanted. "No more of that. You have to call me Nessie. Ness is fine, too."

My insides somersaulted at her words, but I managed to refrain from displaying my surprise on my face. "If that's what you want."

"Uh-huh. I like Nessie better. Did you know Daddy hated that nickname when I was a baby? Mom liked it, so she kept calling me that, but Daddy always called me Vanessa. Even when I was too little for the name! Mom refused to give up, so after hearing it all around him, finally, one day, Daddy called me Nessie by mistake." She let out a giggle. "Then Mom told—"

"You know what, kiddo?" Edward cut her off and reached out to pull her to his side. "Why don't we get in the car? You can finish telling Bella your funny story as I drive."

Va—Nessie laughed and batted at his hand. "You just don't like it because you lose in the story, Daddy. I'm still going to tell Bella! You can't stop me."

He shook his head, trying to appear stern, but the grin on his face betrayed him. "Just get inside the car, Vanessa."

My face also broke out into a smile when Nessie squealed and pulled me along with her. Edward helped us both into our seats before walking over to his side. Nessie sat in the back, but once she'd fastened her seatbelt, she leaned forward as far as possible so that she could continue telling me the story behind her name. I listened intently, laughing with her at the appropriate parts while Edward rolled his eyes at us.

He turned the engine on, then laced our hands together on the console between us. I looked up, and our gazes locked.

"I love you," he mouthed, squeezing my hand.

"I love you, too," I returned before turning my attention back to Nessie's chatter.

And for the first time since that disastrous dinner, I felt a sense of peace settle in the deepest recesses of my heart. For the first time, I found myself truly believing that maybe we'd be just fine.

We'd had our share of troubles, but who didn't? It certainly seemed as though we'd worked through a few years' worth of issues all at once.

I'd walked into this relationship knowing exactly what lay ahead of me. With Edward's hand in mine and a happy little girl who was finally in our corner, I'd gotten a glimpse into the promise the future could hold, and I knew it was worth it.

I wasn't naïve enough to believe that we would have no more problems. In fact, I was sure there would be some hurdles to cross as we moved forward. But this time, I knew we'd have each other at the end of the day. There was no longer a doubt in my mind about that.

And that was how I knew . . . we were going to be just fine.

A/N: Pics and updates: Fanfiction by ForeverRobsessed (Facebook group) Follow the link on my profile.

The epilogue will be up shortly.