EDWARD

I said everything I needed to say. I was surprised to find that my plan worked. She had stopped thinking about Charlie and was concentrating on everything that happened after her birthday. I was even more surprised at how well she took it all. I was expecting her to be angry and throw me out. I thought it would take her awhile to warm up to the idea of us being friends. I mean I did hurt her beyond anything imaginable. Then again, Bella was the most forgiving and loving person I've ever met. If you asked for her forgiveness, she'd give it to you, regardless of what you've done to her.

It was a relief to finally be able to say everything that I've been hiding. Once I said those things, it was easier for me to accept the consequences of my actions. I didn't feel any kind of disappointment when she told me how much she loved Jacob. I felt a sting of pain when she said she would never love me as much as she loved him. However, it was small and quickly paced.

I felt elated at how her eyes lit up when I said I wanted to be her big brother. My cold heart felt nothing but warmth when she crawled into my outstretched arms. Holding her felt different now. Almost better. Too put it in human terms, it was like going to a resturant. Most humans order the same thing every time because they don't think anything else could be better. Then, at some point, for some stupid reason or another, you order something different. That's when you discover that it's just as good, if not better, than what you usually had. That's how I felt at that particuliar moment.

From the moment I met Bella, it was hard to think of her as anything except my greatest temptation. Then once we got passed that, I couldn't imagine anything better than spending all of her life with her. It was utterly impossible to look into our future and not see us together. In that moment however, I felt better holding her as a friend than when we were more than that. I still loved her but not to the itensity I once had. She was my little sister and that was it. I could exist with that. As long as she didn't hate me, it was good. I could've held her like that forever. Fate had other plans...

My phone went off. I slid the phone out of my pocket, registered that it was Alice and flipped it open in less than a millisecond.

"Alice, give me good news." I said too quickly for Bella to understand. I didn't want her to hear what happened until I knew if it was good or bad.

"I wish I could." Alice replied just as fast. I was grateful. There was only a small chance Bella could even hear Alice but I didn't want to take the risk. "We did find him. His cruiser was wrapped around a tree, a couple miles from the convience store, just before the highway."

"What happened?" I asked.

"We still don't know. Jasper and I called Carlisle as soon as we found him. There was so much blood. We didn't want to get too close and lose control. Carlisle brought Sam and the pack. Together they pulled him out. He was still alive when they finally got him out. Carlisle had Rose call 911 and did what he could to keep Charlie's heart going." Her voice was cracking while my dead heart was breaking. "But he just lost too much blood. He was dead before the first ambulance arrived."

"No."

I couldn't believe it. This was going to destroy her. I failed in my first task of being Bella's big brother. I was supposed to protect her from things like this. She shouldn't have to deal with losing her father. Not after they were finally getting to know each other.

I didn't understand how someone could want to hurt her like this. Why God could want to hurt her like this. Was He trying to punish her for being friends with the monters that haunted young children's dreams? Even if that was the reason, it wasn't right. Bella was the sweetest and most wonderful woman, I've ever met. She didn't deserve to be hurt like this. No one did.

"Edward, are you still there?" Alice asked slightly frantic.

"Yes, sorry.' I replied. "Should I tell her?"

"No." she replied. "Jacob should be there any minute. He wants to tell her."

"Okay." I said. "I'll leave as soon as he gets here."

"I'll see you at home." she fhung up.

I flipped my phone closed and slipped it in my pocket. I looked up into Bella's beautiful hopeful eyes.

"They found him." I said trying to make my face blank. I didn't think it was working.

"Thank god." She breathed she seemed relieved. She looked me in the eye and I watched her face fall.

"What?" she asked.

"Jacob's on his way. He wants to tell you." I replied.

"Tell me what?" she asked. I could hear the rising panic in her voice.

The smell of werewolf got my nose. Jacob was here. I was surprised to find that I was relieved. I wasn't going to have to crush her.

"I gotta go." I told her. "Jacob will be her in a second."

I ran out the backdoor as I heard the front one opening. I took off into the woods as fast as I could. I didn't want to hear him say it or hear her reaction to it. I didn't think I could stay away if I heard her crying like that. I would want to badly to provide the comfort only a boyfriend could give. That wasn't my place anymore. It was Jacob's.

My job would come later. My job to just be there when she needed a shoulder. That's what big brothers did. They held you when no one else could possibly understand what you were going through. They were there to remind you that you always had someone even if you felt all alone in the world. I knew she was going to be alone a lot, right now. She would never dream of asking Renee to leave Phil to stay here with her. Or even asking Phil to give up his career to stay with them both. She wouldn't even let them if they offered. I knew Bella, well enough, to know that.

In the coming months, she was going to need as many brothers and sisters as she could get. Preferably, one's who could get along with eachother. I would have to arrange another meeting with the pack. We'd have to discuss the best ways to help Bella through this and not rip each other to pieces in the process. It was going to be difficult for us to do but we had to do it for Bella. We all loved her enough to put aside our issues for her happines and comfort. We were mature enough to do it.

I reached my house a little bit later later than I normally would. Once I had gotten out of earshot of Bella's house, I slowed my pace to a overly (for a human) brisk walk. I needed to clear my thoughts before I got my familiy's too. As I entered the house, I did the best I could to block them out. Jasper's thoughts however, called for me. I looked to the couch where he was sitting with Alice perched in his lap.

"I could go over and stand outside. You know, help her control her emotions tonight. I know it's going to be rough for her." he thought.

"No, Jasper. She'll be okay. Jacob's taking care of her." I replied.

"And how do you feel about that?" Alice asked.

"I wish I could be there. I know it's no longer my place though. There are other things I can do to help her though." I answered.

"Like what?" Esme asked. She was sitting on the couch staring at the floor.

"Like getting the pack together with all of us and creating a truce. Bella needs us all to take care of her. That would be difficult to do if we are constantly fighting with each other. We also need to figure out ways to help her in the months and maybe years to come. She's going to need a lot of emotional support. And knowing what Charlie did for a living, she may need some financial support as well. We can help her with all of this." I explained.

"I agree." Carlisle stated. He had just walked in the door. "I just finished with the police officers. They believe that it was a hit and run drunk driver. They can't be sure, though. There were no witnesses." He explained as he sat down next to Esme.

The family was quiet for a moment. No one knew exactly what to say. None of us knew Charlie well but we all loved Bella. I heard them all silently vowing that anything Bella needed she'd get for the rest of her life. I smiled.

"I've arranged for us to meet with Sam and the others tomorrow." Carlisle broke the silence. "We'll talk about the most effective ways to help Bella throught his difficult time. As well as try to figure out a way for us to do this without killing each other. Now, I want all of you to give a sincere effort. For Bella's sake."

The whole family whole heartedly agreed. Even Rosalie's thoughts were completely supportive of this plan. That shocled me. I thought there'd be kicking and screaming involved. I knew family meant everything to all of them. However, it wasn't until that moment that I realized, their loyalty knew no bounds.

A/N: I know, not one of my stronger chapters. I'm sorry. I was trying to show Edward acceptance of his new role in Bella's life. It was harder than I thought it would be. It's a little difficult for me to see them as just friends. I hope it turned out alright. I only have like three chapters left. I love this story but I feel like it's dragging. It could just be the whole you're your own worst critic thing but I don't know. Let me know if you think I'm being overly critical about it. Thank you to all of my reviewers. Please do it again!!!!!