-CHAPTER 11-

EPOV

My eyes flutter open at the sound of Bella, yet again, talking in her sleep. She's mumbling things that aren't even words, but I can't help myself— I lean in for a listen. This is of course when she decides to get quiet. She's asleep on her side, facing away from me, and even while she's asleep I still believe that she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She's beautiful when she first wakes up in the morning, when she's frustrated (even though more or less it's because of me), when she's angry, and even more while she's sleeping. There's a sort of innocence to Bella when she sleeps. I chuckle at the thought of the events that occurred earlier on tonight. That outfit, my god. I mean, I knew that Bella was going to string me along and make me want her to the point of giving up (yeah, I knew I was going to lose the whole time), but man, she didn't have to go that far. This woman makes me absolutely crazy with lust, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Her soft moans pick up again and I hear my name. I love when she does that. I love knowing that she's dreaming about me, even if she doesn't. I always like picking on her in the morning. I'll ask her what she was dreaming about the night before and she'll have no idea. When I tell her that she was moaning my name all night, she blushes that beautiful crimson and hides under the blankets, knowing she'd been caught. Suddenly, I have an idea; a naughty one at that. I shift forward to see just how deep she's asleep, and I decide that I'm going to wake her up with a little bit of a…bang. I move downwards and shift her onto her back to kneel between her legs, careful not to wake her. I spread her legs softly, and just as I'm about to move my mouth down to taste her, she moans aloud again, though not out of lust, out of…surprise? I feel as if a bucket of ice cold water is thrown on top of me when I hear the name Laurent come from her lips. I sit there for a second, not knowing where this man's name has just come from. I've heard that name before though. Then it hits me. The other night when we were drunk and looking for a cab, she said his name then as well

"See that? I'm going to build that. I'm going to build it so good that Riley's going to be really proud of me and he'll make me a partner and we'll be rich. We're gonna be so rich, Bella…and I'm gonna marry you!"

"You are?" She asks me, wide-eyed.

"Of course, baby. I'm going to be with you forever, and we're gonna get married and have beautiful babies together and I will love you every day until I die. And then we're gonna be buried in our meadow in Forks together!" I throw my head up to the sky to proclaim my words and I look down at Bella who's now crying. Why's she crying? What'd I say?

"Oh no, baby, please…don't cry. I'm sorry—" She cuts me off and throws her arms around my neck. "I love you, Edward." I smile and breathe that I love her too, and god, I really do.

"Thank you, Laurent, wherever you are, thank you." She says silently, and I know I'm drunk, but I have no idea what she's talking about.

"Laurent? Who's Laurent?" I ask. Someone we know?

She stutters for a second, realizing what she'd said. "He's…he's the reason we're together!" She says.

"Oh…okay then, to Laurent!" My drunken mind lets it go, and I spot a cab and take off running towards it, Bella running after me.

He's the reason we're together? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I move back to my side of the bed, only I know that sleep isn't going to come that easy. Bella starts talking again, although none of it makes sense. "Bella?" I call out to her softly when she gasps. I lean over to look at her and the look on her face is pure panic. I can tell that she's having a nightmare. Bella's never been good at having nightmares. I remember when her mother passed away, she had very vivid nightmares about her and she'd wake up screaming. I hope she's not having another one of those dreams. I shake her lightly, when she gasps and says his name again. "I can't lose him, Laurent," she mumbles. I go to move closer to her face, when she rolls onto her side and sighs, the fear in her voice gone, and she says "don't tell Edward."

All of the blood drains from my face and my stomach drops. I sit up and turn my back to her, facing the wall. She's cheating on me? That can't be right…she's happy with me, isn't she? I've never had any reason to question Bella before. We've been together since high school for fuck sakes! I can't put my finger on who this Laurent guy is. She's never mentioned him. Well, of course she's never mentioned him, especially if she's fucking him. I feel as if my entire world is crashing down around me, and before I know it, I'm in tears.

If she's cheating on me, what the hell am I supposed to do?

How am I supposed to live without her?

If she's not happy with me, I can let her go if it's what she really wants, but…

I don't want to live in a world where I can't be with Bella.

I don't even see her as the type of person who would cheat…this is my Bella we're talking about!

I can't fucking believe that I'm even having those thoughts about Bella.

Is this the reason why she's been acting so fucking weird lately?

I sit, staring at the wall for what seems to have been hours, but I can't even be sure, having an internal freak out. All the thoughts in my head right now could fill an entire journal. Finally, not even knowing what time it is, I hear another gasp from Bella, and I hear her body shift. I know she's awake now, but I can't bring myself to look at her. "Edward?" She asks and I turn my head to the right, looking at her from the corner of my eye. I move my head back to the direction of the wall, running my hand through my hair with sigh.

"Edward? What is it?" She asks, sounding worried. Huh. Worried about what, being caught? I mentally chastise myself for that internal comment. I shift myself towards the headboard and look at her, off to my right hand side. I take a deep breath and I can tell by her expression that she can see the worry in my eyes.

"Who's Laurent, Bella?" I ask, waiting for my impending doom.

My question definitely affects her, as her face changes instantly from worried to panic. Her face goes a fair shade of red, and I know it's not due to embarrassment. She's definitely keeping something from me. I'm trying really hard not to break down and I'm having a hard time controlling my emotions; I have to keep my composure.

"Edward…" she starts but I cut her off. No, I don't want excuses and diversions. I just want an answer.

"Bella, if you're…seeing someone else—"

"No!" She yells, quite loud, "it's not like that, I swear! But…where did you hear that name?"

"You were sleeping, having some sort of a bad dream. I went to shake you and you said his name. You were talking about not wanting to lose me. I tried to wake you up, and you said 'don't tell Edward'. And it's not the first time I've heard that name. The other night, when we left the club, you said his name then too. Something about him being the reason that we're together? It came flooding back to me eventually, especially when I heard it again," I look down to the ground, not being able to act angry.

"Bella, if you're cheating on me, you need to tell me right now."

She bursts into tears, and I believe that my assumptions are correct. Here is it, Eddie, you're about to lose the love of your life.

"No, Edward, I'm not cheating on you! It's just…" She sobs into her hands.

I narrow my eyes at her, feeling the anger swell within me. "Then why are you crying?"

She brings her eyes up to meet mine. "Because it's so overwhelming and you don't deserve to be brought into this…"

I arch an eyebrow at her. Really, Bella? "This isn't helping your case, Bella. You need to tell me what's going on." She sees in my eyes that I'm not fucking around. She nods, wiping her tears.

"Okay," she sighs, "let's get dressed and make some coffee, and I'll tell you everything. But Eddie, I'm not cheating on you, okay? I promise." She reaches up to cup my cheek and looks at me as I sigh in relief. I calm myself down and I can feel the anger and pain slowly go away. She crawls to me and straddles my lap to kiss me, and I kiss her back with need.

"I don't know what I would've done," I whisper to her, almost ready to cry. "I can't lose you, Bella, I can't live without you."

"I would never cheat on you, Edward. I love you." Her words soothe and reassure me. I feel my dick growing hard, awkwardly enough, and she right away responds to it. She grinds herself on me and I moan, enjoying the feeling of her. Mostly because I know that this is not the end. I lift her slightly and I pull her down onto me. We both moan at the feeling of each other and stay still for a minute until Bella starts rocking slowly above me. I sigh at the feeling of being inside her, feeling like I just won the fucking lottery. I run my palms up and down her thighs soothingly, letting her know that I understand, and she kisses me. "Baby, I love you. I'll never leave you. I'm always going to be here, okay?" She places her hand on my chest, where my heart's beating and I nod. This isn't going to last long. "Mmm," I moans at her movements and I kiss her neck and she sighs. "I love you too, Bella. Fuck, you feel so good…" She tightens her muscles around me and I almost lose my grip right then and there. I know what she's doing. She wants to show me that she's not going anywhere. This woman makes me fall in love with her more and more every day. I love that we don't even need to speak to convey messages to each other. "Eddie, cum with me," she whispers in my ear, and I moan with a loud sigh as my forehead leans against hers. It doesn't take long for us to both lose ourselves in each other, staring in each other's eyes as we do.

After reaching a normal breathing pace, I kiss her again, knowing that I owe her an apology. "I'm sorry I doubted you, I just didn't know what to think…"

She smiles, understanding. "I promise you, Edward. It will never come to that. What I have to tell you won't be easy to hear, nor will you believe it at first, but I haven't been seeing anyone else." I'm grinning now, only because I know that whatever she needs to tell me, I can handle now, knowing that she's not sneaking around on me. If she were pregnant, though, that'd be interesting.

I chuckle at the thought and she looks at me questioningly. "You're not pregnant, are you?" She rolls her eyes and gets off me, grabbing her robe.

"I'm going to go make coffee. You get dressed, okay?" I nod, and she leaves the bedroom.

I sigh, running my hands over my face, wondering what the fuck I was thinking. If it were anyone else, I'd probably have a reason to be worried. If it were Lauren, definitely. But Bella? She'd never do such a thing, she loves me too much. We love each other— we're building a life together. From the one side of my brain, I'm thinking what the fuck, Cullen? What's the matter with you? But from the other side, I'm thinking Hey, it's a plausible thing to be cautious about, and it doesn't matter who the fuck it is! I bring my little mental debate to an end, and get dressed and go sit in the living room, waiting for Bella.

I take notice of how nervous Bella actually looks. If she isn't cheating, then what does she possibly have to be worried about? We can get through, whatever it is, together. I think back to what she said, how it won't be easy to hear, but it's the truth. Truth…truth about what? Has she been transferred to another publishing house? Hm, well there isn't much of a 'needing to know the truth' aspect to that, so that can't be it. She did roll her eyes at my pregnancy poke, too. She comes out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee, and I can see her shaking her head while doing her own little inner debate. She's probably figuring out how she's going to tell me, but all I'm interested in is what's going on.

She sits down and I just look at her. It's all I can do, because she's literally losing colour in her face.

"Bella," I say, "I don't think I've ever seen you so…nervous. You know you can tell me anything, right?" She nods, barely.

"Edward, I just need to say one thing, okay?" I nod, deciding that staying quiet is probably what I need to do. "What I'm going to tell you, and bear with me, please, is going to make me sound completely and utterly insane, but it's the truth and you need to hear it. You may think that things like this don't happen in life, but…as I've discovered, they do. I'm not crazy, I don't need therapy, and you just need to believe me, okay?" I nod again.

"You remember the day that you drove to the airport to stop me from going to Boston, yes?" I do. "Well, that day, I didn't stay. I left for Boston." Uh, okay, wait a second what is she— she puts her hand up to stop me from interrupting. "Please, Edward." I nod again, leaving her to continue. "I left, and Jake took the next plane after me, not wanting to stay in Forks if I wasn't there. I went to college there with Jake. I majored in literature and Jake majored in business management. Jake and I were never romantically entangled, and I was oblivious to the fact that he had been in love with me since high school. After college, Jake wanted to open his own club and we both decided that moving to Los Angeles would be the best thing in order to do that. He worked long hours at various bars in order to gain experience, as well as knowledge on how to run a business like that. He made many friends and contacts in the hospitality and entertainment industry, and finally got approved for a bank loan to open his own place. I still worked at Crowley Publishing, which was still based here, but it had branched out to LA.

"The only thing I had regretted in my life was getting on that plane and never looking back. I never dated anyone, and never stopped thinking about how much I had hurt you. I became such a coward for those 5 years that every birthday you had, I let them pass by painfully, knowing that I could never work up the courage to call you. I refused to go home to see my dad in Forks, for the fear that the news of my return might reach your parents, and that you'd find out." She pauses to gauge my reaction, but I say and do nothing. I stare at the floor, trying to understand what she's saying, but I won't look at her. I just wait for her to continue.

"I didn't only hurt you, but I hurt Alice as well. I never contacted her either, even when I was seeing article clippings of her latest fashion line and press conferences. It all came crashing down one morning, when I woke up with a terrible hangover. Jake and I had been out the night before, celebrating the big opening of his nightclub, Eclipse. I got the newspaper from outside my door, and I opened it to find reviews of Jake's club. I was excited, so I turned on the news, hoping that something was mentioned. Unfortunately, what I saw wasn't anything near what I was expecting. There was a news report that said you were in a car crash. You died. I still remember the caption on the screen. "Young man in Volvo gets crushed in main intersection." They said that around 5 in the morning, you were killed instantly in a head-on collision. Tyler Crowley was driving, and he was under the influence. He was minority injured, due to the levels of his intoxication. I guess his whole body was loose when he crashed.

"Jake and I immediately flew home to Forks and we went to visit your parents. We were all reunited and damn it, Edward, going to your funeral was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. The funeral took place in our meadow in Forks, and that thought alone almost brought me to a breakdown. Everyone was grieving, as well as upset that we were reuniting under those circumstances. Rosalie gave a beautiful eulogy and told the story of how you two met— you came to her rescue and forced her bully to eat the cupcake he'd stolen from her off the ground, full of mud."

Wait a second. How does she know that? I never told her the story of how I met Rosalie. My head moves up fast to meet her eyes. She smirks, faintly, knowing that finally, I'm reacting. I can tell that this is the kind of reaction she wanted. She's probably tired of sounding like a lunatic. She keeps going. "And your father said, and I quote, "to you all, he was Edward, or Eddie, as most of his friends called him, but to us, he was just that same little boy that liked to pee in his mother's flower pots."

"Bella…I've never told you that before…" I say, and she puts both her hands up in defense. Oh, she's not done.

"It was at your funeral that I noticed a man standing out from everyone else. He was wearing a white tuxedo, and it seemed as though no one in the whole place could see him. I mean, the sun reflected off this guy, it was almost mesmerizing. I walked away from the service because I couldn't even bring myself to look at all of the people that were still in your life. I almost felt like I didn't belong there. I sat by myself until the service was over, berating myself with guilt and feeling the pain of never being able to see you again. After what seemed like forever, I walked back to the meadow where everyone had left. The only thing there was a pile of dirt on top of where your casket had been placed. I dropped to my knees beside it and decided to take it upon myself to apologize to you and let all of my guilt and frustrations out. When I got it all out, I was approached by this man, Laurent, where he introduced himself and said that he had come to pay his respects.

"He seemed creepy to me at first, but he was literally the kindest person I've ever met. His words were gentle, as was his touch. We talked about my reasoning for feeling the way I did, and to make a long story short, he asked me the question of if I had to do it all over again, would I do it. Like, if I had a second chance to make things right. I, of course, said I would. He made the comment that he had been watching me for quite some time, you too, and I freaked out. After he calmed me down, he explained that he was there to help me. He told me that I was the only one who could see him, so, my first thought was wow, I'm talking to a crazy person, and I told him I had to leave. I made a snide comment about him being an angel or something, and he said that it's what I could call him, although that's not what he would call himself. I probably could have handled the whole situation better, but with the emotional state I was in, you couldn't really blame me. I was walking away, and he said behind me "You'll see, Bella. Tomorrow morning when you wake up, things will be different." And Edward, do you know what morning I woke up with you in my arms?"

I look at her for a moment, almost unsure of my answer. For some reason, I feel like I've always known. I've always known that day specifically was a day that everything changed for us. I don't know why…but I guess now I do? "The morning that you…fell out of bed," I say, and I almost don't believe it. She nods, the look on her face is clearly pleading with me to not think that she's crazy.

"I couldn't believe it, Edward. The last thing I remember is going to sleep in your old room during the gathering at your parent's house after the funeral. I passed out early that evening, and I woke up in a room I had never seen before, and I felt you behind me. Needless to say, I freaked out." Yeah, freaked out is an understatement. She screamed and flew out of bed.

"I couldn't understand why you kept asking me if I was really there. You…didn't just wake up from a bad dream," I say, remembering that morning and the conversation.

She shakes her head, confirming my statement. "Edward, you have to understand. That morning was a complete culture shock for me. That was the first time I had seen you in 5 years and I was in your bed, no less. I couldn't believe it, but what Laurent had said was true, and I barely had time to collect all of my thoughts, and then—"

"—and then you attacked me…3 times." I say with a shit-eating grin. What? I'm a guy, I can't help myself. "And," I continue, "you went out for lunch with Jacob…" I say, remembering this was the morning that Rosalie and Emmett had stayed the night.

"I went to go see Jake because I needed to know what else I'd missed out on. Do you know how hard it is to wake up to surroundings you've never seen before? I didn't know if this…transporting…thing happened to Jake too. Turns out he was left out of it, and then I find out that he's always been in love with me…" she says, and I just look at her. "It's a lot to process, Edward." I can sympathize with that. But what does she mean about 'missing out'? I— I stop my brain right there.

"So…" I clear my throat and try and see if I've got this straight, "you're saying that before that morning, you have no recollection of our life together?" She shakes her head with a sad expression on her face.

"I don't have a single memory of college with you, buying this apartment together or you getting your job working under Riley." I can't help but feel sad, but I understand. If it was the only way that we could be together, then I guess that works. I take a second to actually think about what she's told me. Some…angel…or something decided to send her to the life she'd have if she had stayed. But…she did! Even if she doesn't have memories of the past 5 years, I do. I remember the day I met her, all the way to this moment now. I remember taking her to prom, I even remember the long drive to Udub one morning where we got stuck in terrible traffic. I remember when I applied for my job under Riley, and when she came home ecstatic that she got her copy editing job at Crowley. She was there! I sigh and she watches me, probably wondering if I'm going to run out the door and leave her. Could we really live in a world where things like this really happen? I mean, what's next, vampires?

"Forgive me, Bella, it just seems a little hard to believe." As soon as I say that, her reasoning for wanting me to drive her to work that one day when she had hers finally makes sense to me. If I'm getting this straight, that would mean that to her, it was her first day and she didn't know where it was or what she even did. She had no idea about anything because her life in LA was different. Little did she know at the time, everything was the same, except it was based here in Seattle, not in Los Angeles. Same with Jacob's club as well.

"Edward, you have to believe that I'm not crazy. I just…I've been so happy being here with you and having a relationship with your sister again, and with everyone else. I haven't even called my father since I've been here. I have no idea what he's been up to!" I flash a smile at her. How has she not contacted her father yet? But more importantly, how does she not know about what's going on with Charlie? "You mean you haven't met his new wife?"

Her mouth flies open in surprise. "His what?! When did he get married?! Have I met her before? Who is she?!" I lean back, not wanting to get hit with anything. I'm sure my jaw is at least half way to the floor by now, because I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction.

"He married Sue Clearwater last year. You've met her, and you love her. You think she's a great match for your dad. You love that he's found someone to be happy with since your mother died." She calms down a bit and I know it's due to the mention of her mother. I take her hands in mine, and the look on her face isn't hard to read, in fact, it hasn't changed. I smile at her, and she's waiting for my diagnosis. I don't believe she's crazy, but I think that this is just a little to weird for me. Who knows, maybe I'll meet this guy one day. I decide to lighten the mood a bit and let her know in my own little way, that I believe her.

"Well, I mean…I guess this explains all the sex we've been having…" She guffaws, probably not expecting that comment. "After the reaction I just got, I can't believe that I'm actually about to say this, but…I believe you, Bella."

She just stares at me like I discovered a new element on the periodic table, like I cheated gravity, and cured cancer all in the same day. Was she really expecting me to leave her on the grounds of me thinking she's nuts?

"Bella, I just watched you freak out over your father being married. We visited him 2 months ago. We were at his wedding. I know you're not crazy. Any of the crazy you have left has no doubt been fucked out of you," I snicker at her attempt at hiding a moan.

I rest my hand on her leg, and it's her turn to sigh in relief. I need to let her know that I'm here, and not going anywhere. Sure, I may be a bit skeptical, but do you blame me?

"It's a lot to take in, and believe me, this is…some surreal shit, but we'll get through this. This is what I'm here for, Bella. I'm your partner, right?" She nods, pursing her lips together.

"But it all makes sense, you know…" I say, "because since that morning, I thought you were acting strange. I always got the feeling that something was up, that you were acting so…lost. It was like you didn't know who you even were anymore, and somehow it had happened overnight. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who noticed it, but I definitely thought something was up."

Her eyes then almost bug out of her head, as if she forgot something. "Edward, no one else can know about this. As much as I wish I could tell Alice or Rose, I can't. Jasper and Emmett can't know, and I'm not even going to tell Jake—" Oh my god, Bella...

"Well, no shit, Bella. Of all people, you know my sister would never be able to handle something like this. She'd be trying to convince me to take you to therapy. She'd even try and give me numbers of the best doctors in the country. God, she'd probably tell my father! We can't tell anybody this, Bella. No one would be able to handle the news without wanting to put you away, for it be 'for your own good', or otherwise. Especially my sister." She smiles wide, and I have to laugh at the fact that she thought she had to tell me that we can't tell anyone. Geez, Bella, I'm not going to run around giving people incentive to lock my girlfriend up!

"So, I guess this is our little secret, then?" She asks, interrupting my inner monologue.

"Yeah, Bella. We finally have ourselves a dirty little secret," I say and I wink at her. Sure, it's a lot to take in, but if what she's saying is in fact true, I'm glad it happened, because I can't imagine what she went through at my own funeral. The guilt and the pain would be too much to deal with.

We both sit back, clearly exhausted from our thoughts. I look over to her and she's almost about to fall back asleep. "Bella, why don't we go back to sleep? I think we both could benefit from it, don't you? Wanna take a nap?" She nods, capturing a yawn in her hand. I stand up with her and wrap her in a big hug, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm not going anywhere, Bella. You know that, right?" She nods against my chest and holds me. We walk back to the bedroom and we crawl under the sheets, her nuzzling into my chest. We're just about to fall asleep, a hairline away from unconsciousness when we're brought out of our peaceful slumber by my phone going off on the night table. Groaning, I reach over to answer, and I barely get my hello out when I hear my mother on the other end.

"I'M GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!"

Frustrated, we both sit up. Bella yawns again, shaking her head at me.

"Guess we're not taking that nap after all, babe."

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There we have it, the secret is officially out, at least to the only person who could handle it. How are we feeling about Bella's confession? I know a lot of you were glad that she finally came out with it. Don't worry, it was my intention the whole time. I really didn't think I'd be able to carry on with this story having Bella keep this to herself. I've got a lot of stuff coming up for this story, so I hope you stick around for the ride!

And a big HELLO to those who have recently stumbled across this story, thank you for following! Like I said before, I have another story up my sleeve, so I'll let you guys know when it's out, and you can check it out if you're interested!

One last thing, I've been reading a lot of stories on here lately, so I thought I'd recommend a few to you guys. I'm completely addicted to these stories, and the authors are just fantastic!

His Apartment by DayDreamingFairy (This is my #1 right now, I can't get enough of it!)
A Lesson in Love by virginalvampire
In Your Room by LayAtHomeMom
Cherry Sours by rubyblue9696
Countdown to Combustion by bkhchica
All We Are by SarahYoungEun

That's all for now, thanks for reading and see you next time! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Reviews just may push me to post quicker!

xo