"What are you doing here?" Lauren asked rubbing her eyes as she stood at the front door.
"I need to talk to you," Edward replied as he brushed past her and into the living room.
"Yeah, come on in," Lauren said sarcastically. "I wasn't trying to get some sleep or anything."
"Ren, it's seven thirty," Edward said rolling his eyes as he walked into the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch.
"And I got up at five a.m. this morning and worked until three," Lauren snapped as she sat down on the recliner and covered herself with a blanket. "So, what's so important?"
Edward looked around anxiously for any sign of Lauren's family.
"Everyone else is at Caleb's baseball game," Lauren sighed noticing the uneasy look on his face. "So, what's up?"
Edward opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't know where to begin. How much should he tell her?
When Edward had decided that he needed to talk to someone, he figured that Lauren would be the easiest to talk to, but Edward quickly realized that no matter who he talked to about what he knew, it wasn't going to be easy. He was in a situation that he couldn't take too lightly.
"What would you do if you found out that someone was going to do something ... something that could change their whole life?" Edward blurted out.
Lauren gave him a confused look and sat up slightly. "What kind of thing are we talking about here?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want to tell Lauren what he knew - especially since Bella had no clue that he even knew.
"Okay," Edward said exhaling slowly. "I overheard a conversation today. And I found out something about someone. And they're going to do something ..."
"Something bad?" Lauren asked.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I mean, it's not bad to some people, but the way I was raised, it's considered bad."
"How bad?" she asked.
Edward bit his lip. "Pretty bad."
"Can't you give me some sort of hint?" Lauren asked.
"Okay, in my family ..." Edward said softly. "Well, in my family, it's considered murder."
Lauren stared at Edward blankly for a minute to let his words sink in before her eyes lit up and she gasped. "Abortion?" she whispered.
Edward simply nodded.
"Oh my god. Who?" she asked.
"I can't say," he replied.
"It's not your mom, is it?"
"Hell no!" Edward exclaimed. "My mom would never do that. I think it's more the merrier with my parents."
"Jess?" Lauren asked.
"No way! And if I find out that she's had sex, then the guy is a dead man walking!" Edward said seriously.
"Okay, down boy," Lauren said making a face. "So I'm assuming that if you're that protective of Jess, then it can't be Vicky either. And Bree ... well, she's completely out of the question ... So who does that leave?" Lauren asked talking more to herself than to Edward.
"Is it Alice?" Lauren asked.
"Lauren, I'm not going to tell you who it is," Edward interrupted.
"But, Edward! You can't lay this on me and not tell me who it is!" she whined.
"Ya know what? It was probably a bad idea for me to even come over here and mention it," Edward sighed as he started to stand.
"Edward, sit down," Lauren said sternly. "So, you're not gonna tell me who it is. Fine. Let's move on. What do you need to talk to me about?"
"I don't know what to do," Edward said shaking his head. "She doesn't know that I know. I just overheard her end of the conversation, and from the sound of things, she's already made one trip to the clinic."
"But she didn't go through with it?" Lauren asked.
"Apparently not," he shrugged. "I just ... I don't know what to say to her. I mean, I'm not even supposed to know, so how am I supposed to bring it up?"
"Well, what are you even going to say to her? I mean, what do you think talking to her about it is gonna do? Change her mind?"
"I dunno. Maybe," Edward shrugged. "I mean, I don't think she's thinking this through clearly. I mean, from the way she was talking, it seemed like she didn't really want to go through with it but she didn't have a choice. But her parents don't even know ... so how can she be so sure that abortion is the right decision?"
"Well, how far along is she? Maybe she's really close 12 weeks and has to make a decision quick," Lauren pointed out.
"I suppose that's true, but even so, shouldn't she look at her other options first. How can she be so sure that abortion is the right decision when she hasn't even considered keeping the baby or giving it up for adoption?" Edward commented as he stood and paced around the living room.
"Maybe she's too afraid to tell her parents," Lauren replied. "Maybe they'd ... like disown her or something if they found out."
Edward shook his head. "No, not her parents," he said. "They think the world of her. I don't think they could ever disown even if she committed murder." At that Edward stopped dead in his tracks. If she committed murder? Wasn't that what she was planning to do anyway? As far as he could see, it was.
"Edward," Lauren said softly as she stood up and walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "What are you thinking?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. I just need to figure out something ...and fast because I have a feeling that she's going to go back to the clinic this week."
"I wish I knew what to tell you," Lauren frowned.
"Thanks for listening," Edward said forcing a smile. "I'm sure I'll think of something."
"I'm sure you will," Lauren nodded.
"Well, I better get back home," he sighed. "I kind of walked out on the family get together and didn't tell anyone where I was going."
"Uh-oh, you're going to be in trouble," Lauren grinned.
"Eh, I doubt they even noticed I was gone," he shrugged as he headed for the front door.
Bella sat up slowly and pushed her hair away from her face as she turned and let her feet touch the ground. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and yawned as she stood up.
She walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and brushed her hair before she headed downstairs. As she descended the stairs, she noticed that the house seemed unusually quiet. If there was anything she had adapted to since she had arrived, it had to be the noisiness of the Cullen family. She walked over to the front door and looked out the window beside it. Jasper, Carlisle, and Edward's vehicles were both gone, so she guessed that she had missed saying goodbye to Jasper and Alice. She shrugged to herself as she walked down the hallway to the kitchen.
Esme was at the sink washing dishes and looked up just as Bella entered the room. "Hello, sweetie," she smiled warmly. "Did you have a nice nap?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked. "Jacob mentioned that you seemed to be feeling a little under the weather."
"Oh, I'm fine. I was just tired. That's all it was," Bella said quickly as she looked around. "So where is everyone?"
"Jasper and Alice left. Carlisle went to drop Vicky off at a friend's house, and Jessica and Riley tagged along. Jacob is down in the basement with Bree. I think they're watching a movie. And I'm not quite sure where Edward wandered off to," Esme replied as the front door slammed shut. "Oh, wait, I think Edward has just arrived," she said as she yelled over her shoulder. "Edward Cullen, is that you?"
"Yeah," Edward yelled back as he kicked off his shoes and dropped his keys down on the table by the door and headed for the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen and found his mom washing dishes and Bella leaning against the counter beside her.
"And where have you been, mister?" Esme asked sternly.
"I went to Lauren's," Edward replied with a shrug.
"It would have been nice of you to tell someone," Esme commented.
"Sorry, ma," Edward sighed.
"I suppose you can be forgiven this once," Esme said giving him a wink.
"Thanks, mom," he smiled. "So, where is everyone?"
Esme repeated the rundown of everyone's whereabouts as Bella walked over to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.
Edward watched her as she unscrewed the cap and took a sip. His eyes drifted from her face down to her stomach. He could swear from the way she was standing that it looked like her belly was swollen slightly. He looked back up and his eyes met Bella's. She gave him a questioning look, and he looked away quickly when he realized that he had been caught staring.
"I think I'm going to go see what movie Jake and Bree are watching," Bella commented before she walked over to the door to the basement and headed down the stairs.
When Bella reached the bottom of the stairs, she couldn't help but smile at what she saw. Jacob was sprawled out on the couch fast asleep with Bree stretched out beside him. They looked so precious together.
Everyone had always said that Bree was like Jacob's little sidekick, and whenever Jacob came home for the weekend, she seemed to be glued to his side. Bella smiled as she walked over to the couch and took the afghan off the back of the couch and covered Jacob and Bree's sleeping forms. Then she went over and turned off the VCR, but left the television on low before she headed back upstairs.
She stepped into the kitchen and found that it was now empty. Bella wondered down the hallway and into the living room and found Edward watching TV. He looked up as she sat down on the recliner.
"Back so soon?" he asked.
"They were both asleep and I didn't want to wake them," Bella replied.
"Ah, I see," Edward nodded as he picked up the remote and flipped through the stations.
"So, who is Lauren?" Bella asked curiously.
"She's one of my best friends," Edward replied glancing at her. "Why do you ask?"
Bella shrugged. "Just curious," she replied.
"I'll have to invite her over sometime so you two can meet," Edward commented. "I'm sure you'd like each other."
"Cool," Bella smiled. "That would be nice."
Edward nodded as he watched her play with the hem of her t-shirt. He wanted so badly to say something to her about her being pregnant - tell her that he knew, tell her that he was there for her, tell her that he would help her any way he could - but when he opened his mouth, none of the words would come.