A/N: Hello again! Thank you for reading. It's still unbeta'd and I'm sick, so I hope it makes sense.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the characters, but this story is mine.

Chapter 11

I call Aro the next day and give him my notice. I know I should be giving him a full 2 weeks, but I can't imagine putting myself through that hell much longer, so I offer a week. I expect him to be a bit upset, but his tone makes me feel that he is beyond pissed. When I ask him to keep the news of my leaving to himself, he snorts loudly then hangs up on me.

"Fuck him," Edward says later after I relay the conversation to him, "don't go back there again. He doesn't even deserve a week."

I roll my eyes even though I'm tempted to let Aro hang.

We're getting ready for a night out with Ben and Angela. We move around our room in various stages of undress and it strikes me as very familiar. We're barely together and we already act like an old married couple. We may have addressed our feelings, but that's about it. Edward is still, if not more, openly affectionate and we go to sleep every night wrapped around each other with lips swollen from kissing. But that's it. I was happy with what I had, when I was taking anything I could get, but my body is on fire every time he's near and if he doesn't make a move soon, I will combust.

I run my finger along the exposed band of his briefs, and he freezes, one arm in his shirt. I brush my chest along the sliver of his bare back and he lets out a shaky breath before resuming his movements once again. I sigh in frustration and tears prick my eyes. It's not the first time I've wondered if my condition is a turn off for him.

He turns suddenly, grabbing my arms and lowering me onto the bed behind me. He kneels between my open legs and presses his hard heat between them.

His voice is strained, and his breath is hot against my ear, "Don't think I don't want you." He grinds against me, slowly, kissing me hard for emphasis.

I'm about to lose myself to his rhythm when he slowly pulls away, leaving me sprawled and panting on the bed.

"Hurry up or we'll be late," he says, grinning down at me.

"You're so mean!" I yell, tossing my shirt towards his head. He laughs as he leaves the room, but I don't miss the pained look on his face as he adjusts his pants.

I'm nervous as we make our way through the crowded restaurant to where Angela and Ben are waiting. I haven't told Angela I'm leaving Aro's yet, and I'm afraid she's going to be pissed.

Before we can sit down, Angela hops up and rushes towards me bobbing and weaving between servers and tables.

I'm not sure what has her so excited, but as her hand shoots out and hovers before my face, I get it. Her left ring finger is now encircled by a delicate gold band with a small diamond set in the center.

"Shut the fuck up," I bellow and wrap her in my arms. The restaurant is so busy no one pays us any mind, even as we bounce together with tears streaming down our faces.

Edward gives Ben the one arm man-hug and we all scoot in to the booth. Over appetizers Angela regales us with the story of Ben's proposal and then announces that she has even more good news.

"Ben has been accepted to NYU for his masters! We're leaving next month!" she squeals and even though her smile lights her face it doesn't reach her eyes. Her cheer is a bit forced but I won't let her feel bad.

I try to keep my face from falling, I will my smile to stay put even though new tears have sprung. Angela has been my best friend for what seems like forever. Only two years older than me, she took me under her wing when I was a gangly pre-teen, and showed me how to act like the girl I wanted to be.

She passed on the things she learned from her mom and together we navigated our way through first loves and first losses, and now, she was leaving me.

I know I don't fool her, but I keep up the brave front anyway and for the time being we let it slide. There is no sense in both of us weeping at the table.

"We're going to the courthouse in 2 weeks," Ben says, "we'd love for you both to be there for us."

Edward grasps my hand and gives it a small squeeze, "We wouldn't miss it for the world."

Later that night, Edward holds me as I sob into his shirt and he tries his best to calm me with promises of flying Angela out for the baby's birth and other smaller idiocies. By 2am he's sat through two chick flicks and watched me eat a pint of ice cream.

The credits of the last movie have run through and we're swallowed by the darkness that follows the click of the remote. He lifts my chin, gently tilting my face towards him. My head swims, desire and fatigue circle each other like fighters in the ring. His hand is in my hair, pulling me closer to him until I'm flush along the length of his body. I fist his shirt with one hand while I grab at the back of his neck with the other one. He groans a low, gravelly sound and chaos ensues. His shirt is off and I'm clawing at his back as he attacks my neck while trying to work through the buttons on my shirt. I feel the fabric give way and hear the tap of plastic as a few buttons bounce off the coffee table.

I'm straddling Edward and his hands are cupping my bare breasts when the front door crashes open and an inebriated Emmett stumbles in, his girlfriend in tow.

He looks over at us and I'm praying the shadows offer enough cover and his brain is too hazy to fully grasp what he's staring at. It's not like we have anything to hide, but I'm not real keen on the idea of them seeing me topless.

Emmett offers a lopsided grin and a thumbs up, "stay classy," he slurs before shutting his bedroom door.

I bury my face in Edward's neck. Mortified doesn't even begin to cover how I feel. I'm so sexually frustrated I could cry, but the moment is gone. Edward holds my shirt closed and we stumble our way to bed.

It seems like the couch is off limits for everyone and Emmett and I are now even.

My last shift at Aro's goes by in a blur. It's Angela's last shift as well and now I know why Aro was less than thrilled when I told him I was leaving. His daughter Jane is taking my place and ignores every tip I give her during training.

After countless attempts to help her, I stop caring. Let her dad deal with the brat he's raised. I clock out for the last time and join Angela out front. We haven't had a chance to really talk since her announcement, so we're having a girl's night. It's kind of a bachelorette party, but not. She's not into strippers and I can't get plastered.

Instead, we camp out on her couch in our pj's and gorge ourselves on takeout. We're laughing over disturbingly bad porn when I present her with her wedding gift. It's the tackiest lingerie I could find, and now that it's off the hanger, I have no idea how she'll even know how to wear it without cutting off circulation to important places.

"I got something for you, too," she says as she jumps up and heads towards her room. When she returns, she hands me a small box wrapped in pink and blue paper, and places a small cake on the table in front of us.

"Happy… parasite," she cheers as she raises her glass.

I rip open the box and pull out a onsie with "Whose tit do I have to suck to get a drink around here?" written across the front and a pacifier that looks like buck teeth.

We laugh until there are tears streaming down our faces and our sides ache.

I realize now, that I'll never have a friend as good as Angela, and no distance between us will change what we have. In the quiet that surrounds us when our laughter dies down, all I have to do is look at her, and she knows. She gives me a small nod, acknowledging the understanding between us and I know we're ok.

We'll miss each other like crazy, that's obvious. We're both moving on with our lives, becoming adults in our own way. Even though we'll no longer be doing it side by side, we're still doing it together.