(Edward POV)

"Edward, we really have to get this straightened out," Bella said urgently.

"What is there to straighten out?" I really didn't want to be a part of this conversation.

"How do I find someone to adopt the baby?"

"I'm sure your mother would know," I replied curtly.

"I don't want her to know," Bella said. "I want to find a home for the baby, and then tell her, so that she thinks I'm being responsible about this, and so I don't get in that much trouble."

"It's a bit too late for her to start thinking you're responsible," I told her.

"And how is that my fault!" Bella yelled. "I didn't want to drink! The drinks were spiked and I didn't know! I didn't want to have sex, either. But did you care?"

"You didn't stop me," I muttered.

"Of course I didn't. I was drunk. But before, when you kissed me, I pushed you away. I didn't want you to kiss me. Maybe I didn't want to sleep with you either."

"You could have been playing hard-to-get," I retaliated. "You were asking for it, you know it! Why else would you wear a fucking dress with less material than a fucking bathing suit?" Damn, this girl made me furious.

"Don't you remember me telling you, at the party, that I didn't want to wear that? That Alice made me wear it?"

"Well, you could have been lying. You could have chosen that dress wanting someone to screw you. Then, when you got pregnant, you're looking for any excuse to pin the blame on anyone other than yourself, whore."

Maybe that was a bit too much. Bella turned her head away, and I could hear her crying, even if I couldn't see the tears. It sounded so hopeless, so forlorn, that all of my anger evaporated, and was replaced with guilt. I felt guilty a lot these days.

"Bella. Bella, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"Stop the car," she commanded. "I'm going to walk home."

"No, Bella," I said, pressing the button that locked the doors.

"Let me out."

"No."

"If you don't let me go, I'm going to...I'm going to...scream. I'm going to yell that someone needs to call the police, because you're kidnapping me."

"You're a horrible liar. It would never work."

"Would too."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Would not."

Bella huffed. "You know what, Edward? Just shut that stupid mouth of yours, and drive as quickly as possible, so that I can go home as soon as possible."

"Fine." I turned my eyes to the road, and drove home. As soon as the car stopped, and I had unlocked the doors, Bella had opened her door, taken her bag out of the backseat, and walked inside without a backwards glance. I had taken one step forward, and then two steps backward. This was perfect.

I locked my car, and stepped out, when I heard someone.

"Hey, you!" I turned around. The voice belonged to a short, black-haired girl standing at the edge of the driveway.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Jessica Stanley. Who are you?"

"Edward Cullen."

"Where are you from? I haven't ever seen you here before."

"San Diego."

"Are you, like, Bella's boyfriend or something?"

"No."

"Oh. Because I was thinking it was about time Bella got her first boyfriend. But if you're not her boyfriend, you can be mine." First boyfriend? Bella never even had a boyfriend? And now she would be a mom. I really screwed up her life.

"No, I don't think that would work. I'm not really interested in dating right now."

"You don't need to date me. You can just come over at night. My parents are out of town for the rest of the week."

"No, thanks. I said I don't want to date."

"If you're not dating Bella, why are you here?"

"I'm her future stepbrother."

"Why is she mad at you? I've never seen her that angry in my entire life."

"I'm not her boyfriend. I just got her pregnant, all right!" I clapped my hand over my mouth. The girl was annoying me. I know Bella didn't want me to tell anyone about the baby, but it just slipped out. It was kind of sad that I couldn't tell my girlfriend...no ex-girlfriend...but I could tell any random stranger on the street. Anyway, how much harm could one person do?

"Ohmigod, you're the one who Bella hooked up with at Alice's party!" Okay, so maybe telling her was a bad idea.

"Wait until Tyler hears about Bella, the Ice Princess, getting pregnant by her brother! And Eric and Katie would kill for this gossip. I wonder if Angela knows? And Rosalie? Alice probably knows; they're best friends. Hmmm, maybe I could tell Leah, and Seth too, and..."

Damn, the girl was already mass-texting on her cell phone.

"I have to go," I said, excusing myself. Jessica didn't seem to have noticed.

(Bella POV)

Edward is the most annoying person alive, I thought. He's acting as if I wanted to get knocked up by him. I wish...

A knock on the door startled me out of my reverie. It was Esme. "Bella dear, is everything alright?"

"Yes, Mom, everything's fine."

"You looked really upset when you came in just now."

"I wanted to stay at Alice's tonight."

"Bella, honey, I need your help in planning the wedding. You can have as many sleepovers as you want as soon as the preparations are done."

"Mom, that will take months."

"Is that a problem?" Again. It was like she knew.

"No, not a problem."

"Good. We'll be going to a boutique tomorrow to try on dresses."

"Mom! I'm tired!"

"Then you should be getting to sleep."

Damn! Why couldn't anyone leave me alone? First it was Edward in the car, and now it was Esme. Someone knocked at my door.

"Go away, Carlisle!" I shouted. There was no one else left, in the house, to piss me off. It must be Carlisle.

"I'm not Carlisle," the knocker said.

"Go away, Edward," I yelled. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Well, there's something I think I should tell you," he replied. "I was talking to someone on the driveway, and I kind of let it slip that I got you pregnant."

WHAT!!! I jumped out of bed, and ran to the door, whipping it open. "Who?"

"It was a girl, about your age, I think. She was short, had black hair, and she talked a lot. I think she said her name was...Jessica...something. I can't remember her last name."

Jessica knew? That was it. My reputation was officially in the toilet. "What else did you tell her?" I demanded.

"Nothing...well...she asked who I was, and I told her I was your future stepbrother."

"Did she do anything after you told her that?" Please tell me she didn't believe it. Please tell me she didn't believe it. Please—

"She took out her phone and mass-texted a bunch of people." Who was I kidding? Jessica would believe anything, as long as it was a good topic for gossip.

"Edward, do you realize what this means? I worked for years to get a decent reputation in this place, and you had to go ruin that in one shot! How could you?!"

"Bella, I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It isn't enough anymore. It never was enough. Saying sorry can't change the past."

"But it can change the future," Edward argued, grabbing my hands. "Bella, I wish I hadn't spoken to you the way I did in the car. It was wrong, and I should have never treated you like that. I was upset, I didn't think, I was in denial. I was so upset, I didn't think about what I was saying to Jessica until it was too late. Bella, I don't want to be your enemy. If you'd just let me help you, I could—"

"So you're trying to pin this on me again?!" I shouted. How could he have the nerve?

"No, Bella, I...You're taking this the wrong way!"

"So this is my fault again?!" I yelled. "Leave me alone, Edward, I have a lot going on tomorrow." With that, I slammed the door in his face and collapsed on my bed. What was I going to do about Jessica? Then I thought about Rosalie. Rose was popular, too. She'd be the best person for damage control.

I picked up my cell phone, and was just dialing Rose's number, when it started to ring. It was Rosalie. "Hey, Rose, I was just about to call you."

"Hey, Bella. Jessica Stanley just sent me a text that you got pregnant by your brother. How do you think she found out?"

"That's what I was about to call you about. Edward just came in here and told me that Jessica was outside the house for some reason, and he let it slip. What can we do?"

"Bella, I was thinking...Edward admitted that he was the father of your baby, and no one will doubt that, especially when they see you. Moving away won't work, because then everyone will know. So, the only thing left to do is to create an even bigger gossip topic."

"What could be bigger than me having a baby with my brother?"

"I could be pregnant. I'm more popular, so it'd be a bigger deal."

"When a baby doesn't show up, everyone's going to know you lied."

"That's the thing, Bella. I don't know how to tell you this, but...I'm...also having a baby."

"Rose! Stop joking! I don't want to hear this!"

"Bella, I know it probably seems like a joke, but it isn't. Emmett and I fooled around at Alice's party, too. Emmett used a condom, so I didn't think anything would happen, but lately I've been thinking about it a lot. You see, my period didn't come and I was thinking maybe the condom broke or something like that. When I went out with Emmett tonight, I got a pregnancy test, and...and it was positive. Bella, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Jeez, all of these apologies were getting to me.

"Because I know it isn't fair to compare my situation to yours."

"Huh?"

"You know, I'm having the baby with my boyfriend, who will help me, and you're having it with you stepbrother."

"Damn, Rose. I didn't even think about that until you brought it up."

"Oh. Anyway, Bella, I have to go. And as for the rumor situation, well, I'll find an indirect way to tip Jessica off, about my pregnancy, so that she gets off of your case. Okay?"

"Yeah, Rose. Bye."

"Bye."

***The Next Morning***

I awoke to the blaring of my alarm clock. Getting up slowly, I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and went downstairs for breakfast..

"Good morning, Bella," Esme chirped happily. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Just great, Mom. Who set my alarm for six o'clock?" I replied groggily.

"I did, Bella. The wedding's in October, so we should really get going, if we want everything to be in order."

"We have three months, Mom."

"So? I want everything to be perfect, with time to spare."

"Mom, I don't want to get up this early. It's summer."

"You shouldn't have slept as late as you did," Esme replied. "Anyway, speaking of last night, why were you and Edward arguing? We could hear you yelling all the way downstairs. What was the argument about?"

"Nothing, Mom. He was getting on my nerves, that's all."

Esme noticed my untouched bowl of cereal, and said, "Hurry up, Bella. We don't want to be too late getting out. I have an appointment at the dress shop."

"Why do you need an appointment?"

"There's going to be a salesperson waiting, who will take measurements, and then suggest dress colors and styles for us. Isn't that exciting?" Measurements? The question is, would those measurements still apply in October at the time of the wedding.

"Who else will be there?"

"Just us two."

"No bridesmaids, anything...?"

"No. Carlisle and I have decided to have a small wedding. You're the only one who needs to get fitted for a dress besides me. You will walk down the aisle with Edward. That's it. No one else will follow or precede you, besides us. Carlisle and Edward are going to buy tuxes today, as a matter of fact. When we come back, we will decide on a venue for the reception." Buy tuxes? Carlisle must be really rich.

"So you know where the actual wedding will be?"

"Carlisle's father is a minister, so we will have the wedding at his church."

"And you'll get married by his father?"

"Of course. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Oh yeah. Definitely."

A/N: By the way, I had been told that the last chapter, Chapter 9, was a bit confusing to some people. I'm sorry about that, if you found it confusing, and I probably will go back and edit the entire story when I am done, so there's no need to worry about that.