BPOV

After receiving Edward's texts, part of me was glad to know that he was coming back, but an even greater part of me worried that he was only doing so because he thought I wanted him to, or that he had to. I quickly found his number in my phone, and right as I pressed the call button, Emmett walked out. I didn't let him fucking deter me though. I didn't give a shit if he witnessed my conversation.

"Doll?"

"Hello to you too, Eddie. Look, I don't want you to think you have to come over, okay? It's really not that big of a deal."

"If what went down wasn't a big deal, why were you asking if you could come by when they left?" I could literally hear the smirk in his voice.

"I didn't say that what went down wasn't, but it's nothing I can't handle on my own. I just needed to break away for a minute, but I don't want you to think I'm fucking pressuring you int…"

"Shit, do you ever shut the fuck up?" he asked with a laugh. I couldn't help but smile. "Actually, I was going to call you later and see about going over there anyway. Back at the house, the track marks on your arms, I wasn't expecting that shit. I admit that I pretty much fucking asked for it with the way I went off on you, and though I've been curious about what all the vague responses you've given have meant, I never thought it would be something like that. I'm usually not one for fucking talking about that shit—to anyone—but for some reason, I've got this fucking gut feeling that won't leave me the hell alone. My mind is going crazy trying to figure this shit out, and if you're willing to tell, I want to listen."

"And I talk too much?"

"Call me when they leave, Swan."

The call ended and I was left with Emmett staring a fucking hole in me. What was it with him and the constant attempts at intimidating me? At least, that's what I thought he was doing. He stood next to me, his hip leaned against the wood railing and his arms folded across his chest as he stared at me in a calculating manner.

I sighed heavily. "All right, Em; let me have it."

"I'm not here to gripe at you, Bella. I came out here to check and make sure you were all right. Apparently, you're fine and Edward's coming back," he stated with an arched brow.

"No, I'm not fine, Emmett. I royally pissed off right now. And don't worry; Edward isn't coming until after everyone leaves later."

"Why won't he come now?"

"Did you seriously just ask me that?" I shrieked at him in disbelief. "Why the hell would he want to come back? All of you made it perfectly clear to him that he wasn't wanted here, despite my efforts to keep things calm. Alice unleashed and humiliated him when all he was trying to do was help me out. Jasper insulted him with hateful fucking comments. Carlisle tried to fucking search him, and you even had a part in that one. Then Esme stood by and watched it all happen. He wanted to be here with everyone—he wanted to help—and…and you know what? I'm done fucking trying to explain everything today. You know damn good and well without me having to so much as utter a single fucking word why he doesn't want to come back until you've all gone."

"I wish like hell that Alice would have given you some warning, prepared you for the way things are now. To just toss you into all of this havoc the way she did wasn't right, and I'm sorry for that. She should have told you what was going on with Edward, rather than having you find out like that. I'll agree that she went too far with the muffin thing, but out of all of us, Alice holds the most resentment I think. Dad, well, like I told you, he put his professional reputation first. Do I wish he'd have fought more to get Edward back? Fuck yes I do, but the fact is, he didn't, Bella. And because of that, Edward's so far gone into his lifestyle that it's literally changed who he is—inside and out."

"That's where you're wrong, Em. That's where all of you are wrong." I left it at that and refused to say anymore. If I continued to talk about it, I'd get choked up and lose my shit; it was going to be hard enough to revisit my life of the past few years later tonight with Edward.

Eventually, Emmett sighed and slowly started to walk back inside, but I stopped him and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you for acknowledging that I should have been made aware, and for at least admitting that someone could have done more in regards to helping him out. I promise, I'll call you tomorrow and maybe we can meet up for breakfast or lunch."

"You're welcome, Cinder-Bella," he said with a dimpled grin as I landed a playful jab to his arm. "Just give me a call tomorrow, but…uh, that's not your way of telling me we have to leave now, is it? I want another burger; I'm still raging hungry."

"Geez, of course I'm not kicking you out right now. Carlisle on the other hand…" I trailed off as Emmett laughed and shook his head.

I stayed outside a bit longer to calm myself as much as possible before walking into the house. Why was it that I felt like I was walking into a lion's den when they were all inside my home? Wasn't something fucking wrong with that picture? I could tell already just from the interaction and words we'd shared so far that when it came to Edward, Alice and Carlisle were going to be my biggest problems; I guess I could include Jasper as well considering the way he'd spoken to Edward earlier. I hoped that maybe Esme would be open to talking to me about Edward one on one tomorrow while we were shopping because she'd yet to say anything negative about him; then again, she hadn't said anything positive either.

When I finally went back in, everyone was gathered in the living room huddled around Emmett. As I grew closer, I noticed that he was holding an iPad, and they were all smiling and oo'ing and ahh'ing.

"What in the world is so entertaining?" I questioned with a chuckle.

"We're just going through pictures I have on my iPad. I'm sure you've never seen half of 'em," Emmett explained, smirking at me. Esme stepped aside with a reassuring smile, making room for me next to Emmett. I placed my hand on his shoulder blades and leaned in, but fuck it was hard to see. I literally had to mold myself around his massive fucking bicep just to get a decent view of the screen without the ever-irritating glare. But when he moved it closer, I gasped at what I saw. The picture he had on the screen was Edward, Alice, Emmett, and I sitting together on the porch steps of my childhood home. I remembered that day well because it had been taken the day before Charlie and I moved. Alice and I sat in the middle, Edward beside me and Emmett beside her. Always the mischievous one, Emmett held bunny ears above Alice's head. Edward hadn't done anything like that; he just had his arm slung over my shoulders. Looking at that picture and being reminded of just how much Edward had changed—how much we'd all changed—left me feeling just a bit raw on the inside. I wished desperately that things were the way they used to be, and I strongly believed they could be again, I just had to make these fucking people see how much they were throwing away. But one thing I noticed about that picture above all else, something I hadn't seen when I was a child, was that even back then, glasses, lankiness and all, Edward was just as beautiful as he was today, only he was a little rougher around the edges. That boy was still inside of him somewhere because I caught small glimpses of him every now and again in stolen glances, but I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me in trying to bring him back.

Emmett continued to show me more and more pictures, and there were several that I asked him to print off for me. Some were of all of us, some of just me and Alice, and some of the three of them. I was actually pretty fucking bummed not to see a single picture of just Edward and I. I would have to remember to ask Charlie if he happened to have any when I called him later. But knowing my dad, more than likely he didn't. Hell, he was fucking lucky if he remembered where his house shoes were I half the damn time.

After another hour or so of everyone—excluding Jasper since he wasn't around back then—reminiscing over the better memories of my time with them, Carlisle was called in to the hospital. Esme started off toward the kitchen and when I followed her in, I had to fucking stop her. She was gathering all of the trash from lunch, and after throwing it away, started to put food away.

"Esme, stop. I'll get it. I'm sure Carlisle is in a hurry to leave for the hospital—for more reasons than one." I mumbled the last bit under my breath, but the look that crossed her face told me that she'd heard me loud and clear.

"Bella, dear, you're going to butt heads with Carlisle quite frequently when discussing Edward, but don't take it too personally, okay? I'm begging you. He loves you just as much as he ever did, and in his mind, he's only trying to look out for you."

"But you don't believe what he's doing is right, do you?" I questioned after having picked up on her indifference.

She glanced around us before leaning in and murmuring into my ear. "We'll talk tomorrow, Bella."

It was then that Carlisle walked in, followed by Emmett and Jasper. Carlisle hugged me goodbye which, in all honesty, was awkward as fuck considering our heated exchange earlier. Jasper basically left with a glare and not a word of apology or anything, and Emmett…well, he told me to call him if I needed anything. And that was only after begging me to let him take a few of the leftover hamburger patties home. I kept a couple just in case Edward and I got hungry later and—much to Emmett's delight—sent him home with the rest.

When the last car finally pulled away from the curb and my driveway, I shot Edward a quick text to let him know it was safe for him to head this way. He didn't leave me waiting long before I got a response.

Have you talked to Alice? –E

Well, that was the last fucking thing I expected him to say.

Not since we butted heads earlier. Why? –BS

Apparently someone fucking told her I was going back to your place and she called again to bitch me out and threaten me not to show up. –E

Don't you DARE listen to that shit. Get your ass over here. I'll handle Alice. –BS

My blood was boiling. What the fuck was her problem? I quickly pressed the speed dial and waited for her to answer. When she picked up, I unleashed.

"Hello?" she greeted cheerfully, but even I could tell that it was fake…through the fucking phone.

"Let's get one thing straight here. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you will not threaten or bitch out anyone in regards to coming to my house. You and I have some shit to straighten out, and we'll fucking deal with it tomorrow, but I'll be damned if you're going to stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Stick my nose whe—," she exclaimed. "Bella, he's my brother so I have…"

I had to stop her there. "Oh so now he's your brother? He only matters when it's convenient for you! And even then you still treat him like shit!"

"If you would let me finish!" she shouted petulantly. "I called him because I'm on my way to your house now in hopes of talking to you and trying to settle what went down earlier."

"And instead of telling him that in a calm manner, you fucking bitched at him and threatened him! You might be able to get away with doing that shit to him and everybody else, but I'm not going to stand for it. You and I will talk tomorrow. Edward is coming back because there's something I need to talk to him about, and it's personal."

"You're doing it again. Why, after all I've done, are you cho-," she started but I angrily cut her off.

"I'm not fucking choosing anybody, but you royally pissed me off today, Alice. I saw a side to you today that I never thought would have been capable of coming from someone so loving and warm-hearted. The hatred that you hold for Edward has nothing to do with me, but I despise it. Either you can take the offer of talking tomorrow or you can drop it because either way, it's not fucking happening tonight."

"Oh come on, Bella! It'll only take a minute. He can fucking wait a bit; if the drugs haven't killed him yet, he'll live through waiting twenty to thirty minutes."

My voice dropped dangerously low, and anyone that knew me would know that that meant I was about a second away from completely exploding. "Here's what going to happen: you're going to show up and knock on my door, but I won't fucking answer. You're going to turn your cold fucking hearted ass around and drive right back home because I swear on all that's fucking holy, if you keep pushing me, I'll show you the side of me that no one wants to see."

I didn't even give her a chance to respond before ending the call. I loved Alice; she was my sister, but this side of her that I'd seen the past couple of days filled me with hate and anger that I quickly losing my grasp on. I wasn't even sure if her telling me her side of what she'd been through would even be enough to redeem herself in my eyes. The way in which she talked about and to Edward was fucking horrendous, and I sure as shit wasn't going to stand for it.

Tomorrow it is. –A

I scoffed as I read the text back a few times. To try and clear my head and calm down a bit, I went back into the kitchen to hopefully find something to cook. In no time I found some chicken breasts and all the ingredients I would need to make Chicken Parmesan, one of my favorites. Edward had done ridiculously fucking good with shopping for me. Now if only I could get him to do the same for himself. Hell, maybe I could even return the favor and do it for him.

I quickly located my tenderizer, which had thankfully already been unpacked. At least one thing went the way I wanted it to today.

EPOV

She had track marks. Bella fucking Swan had track marks! There were several different scenarios that had crossed my twisted mind since she'd shown up on my doorstep yesterday. Several different scenarios to explain her vague answers regarding knowing the signs, and what it was like for me, the reason why none of it really fazed her.

Never.

Never in a thousand—hell, make it a million—fucking years did I think that an addiction of her own would be the explanation. Being that whatever she was on was intravenous, she had most likely been worse off than me. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it had been like for her to have dealt with that shit, especially having a police chief as a father. And there was no way in hell she was faking that shit; you can't fake track marks.

When I'd lost my cool with her following the call from Alice, I felt like the world's biggest fucking tool. She'd been nothing but good to me at that point, and while I'd admit that there were things that were beginning to annoy the shit out of me, she hadn't deserved that. The shock that registered on her face really drove home the fact that I'd hurt her, no matter how right I thought I was. But when she showed me the marks, I wanted to crawl into a fucking hole and die. It was obviously something she was embarrassed by and didn't want to show anyone but my callous words had pushed her to that point. And now…now I couldn't quit thinking about it. She actually wanted to tell me her story and—my antisocial tendencies be damned—I desperately wanted, no, I needed to fucking listen and hear her out. I owed her that much. It was all part of the process to figuring out the enigma that was Bella Swan.

I wanted to know what she'd really been up to. Fuck it—I wanted to know everything there fucking was to know about her, and I couldn't explain why. This shit wasn't like me at all. For two years now, I'd strayed away from getting to know anyone outside of Aro and his crew; no women. But yet, she comes along and almost immediately, the defenses I had against women that had always worked were suddenly rendered useless. There was no use in lying; I was fucking attracted her, and it was bad. I had to keep my mind distracted when I was in her presence because if I just sat back and let it run away, my dick went from flaccid to rock fucking hard within seconds. And the worst part about that was, I could tell that she was attracted to me as well. Would I ever let myself go and actually pursue something with her? Highly fucking unlikely. No matter how attracted to her I was, no matter how much she might come to mean to me, I was positive that my heart would never be ready to put itself in a predicament where someone could obliterate it again.

Yeah, you can say it. I was completely jumping the fucking gun. I had only been reunited with her last night, but still, to feel this strongly already was freaking me the fuck out, almost to the point of needing a few days of space from her.

After she spilled her guts and shit to me.

I just hope like hell that she wasn't going to start crying because I'm a man; I don't do crying. I can't handle it, and chances were if she started, I would either join her, or I'd need a fix to calm the anxiety that would surely settle over me. Earlier today had been different. I knew what had upset her and it revolved around me. I was fucking used to seeing people cry because of my sorry ass, but dealing with someone crying over something that had nothing to do with me was a different story.

Would I tell my side of things when she finished? Fuck no. Doing so would be opening myself up to a world of pain, to being judge, shit that I buried deep in the far recesses of my mind. Granted, it was the shit that I dwelled on daily, but I didn't speak of it with anyone, and don't see myself ever fucking doing so.

Any fucking way, the minute that Bella had dropped me off back at the house, I regretted ever asking her to bring me. Yeah, I needed a fix like nobody's fucking business, and I hated that I'd caused a rift with her and my family, but it felt good to be around her. To be treated as if I somehow mattered.

I know, I know, my head is a fucking twisted pile of shit inside. I missed feeling needed, missed feeling cared for, but when you live so long without either of those and instead loathe yourself, that's what your left with.

I had just had my second fix since being back home when she began texting me about something else having gone down. I was actually glad that she asked if she could come by and confounded that she had offered to buy me a fucking carton of cigarettes.

For what? Being a supreme asshole and ruining your day?

Instead of allowing her that, I told her that I would go to her, but only when the fucking family had left. I didn't want to deal with any more of their bullshit today, and I knew that Bella didn't either. At least she'd seen firsthand today exactly how they interacted with me. The search that Carlisle, my father, had tried to perform on me was nothing new. In fact, I went through that shit every fucking Sunday. Hell, even my fucking car went through a search. Carlisle usually checked me while Emmett checked my car. I fucking hated it and it made me feel like I'd reached the ultimate bottom and was nothing more to them than the dirt beneath their fucking feet.

And I needed to fucking quit thinking about that shit because I'd already had two fixes, and with the limited fucking stash they'd given me, I couldn't afford to be reckless and have another. So I began gathering what liquor I had in my house which was mainly Crown, Jack, and Vodka. I couldn't remember if I fucking had anything else. All I knew was that I hoped Bella was okay with me sleeping on her floor because I planned to drink my fucking ass off tonight, and I most likely wouldn't make it back home. From what I knew of her, she'd fucking kick my ass from here to Sunday if I even thought about driving home drunk and under the influence of drugs. And I don't mean that jokingly. There was no doubt in my fucking mind that that woman could knock me the fuck out.

While I was still searching my liquor supply, my phone began to ring in my pocket, and like the damn fool I am, I answered before checking to see who the fuck it was.

"Where are you?"

"Why do you fucking care where I'm at?" I bit out.

"Just answer the damn question! Are you at Bella's or not?"

"No, I'm not, but I will be soon," I told her, sighing loudly. I didn't have time for this shit.

"You've done enough damage today, and I need to talk to her. Stay the fuck away from her, Edward!"

"Or what, Alice? What could you possibly fucking do to me that you or someone else hasn't already done? Throw me in jail? I've been there. Cut me off? Every single one of y'all have already done that! You can't do shit, and there's no way in hell I'm going to let you fucking threaten me. Bella needs to talk to me, so I'm going."

"Oh really? What is so important that it can't wait?"

"None of your fucking business, and did you really think I would ever tell you?" I laughed darkly, hung up the phone and put it on silent. I'd had about enough of her for today. Hll, I'd enough of her to last a fucking week.

Nearly fifteen minutes after that, Bella texted me to come over, and I didn't want to fucking show up and find Alice there so I asked her if she'd talked to her. She was pissed, that much I could tell just from her texts. After fucking loading the liquor into my trunk, I headed toward Bella's.

When I pulled up and Alice's car was nowhere in sight, I knew Bella had handed her ass to her because if I knew my sister, she had called me from the curbside of Bella's house. Hell, she was probably there when Bella got a hold of her. I quickly grabbed my carton of smokes from the backseat and the bags of liquor from the trunk before heading inside. I tried knocking on the door a few times, but she wasn't answering and the protective side of me started to panic. I checked her doorknob and it made me sick to see that she hadn't locked it. Anybody could have walked the fuck in and that made my stomach turn. My lifestyle had made me aware of exactly how sick and fucking evil people could be and just thinking something like that could happen to Bella fucked with me. I was going to have to make it a fucking point to mention that shit to her.

I pushed the door open and hollered out for her, but she didn't answer. Instead, all I heard was pounding coming from the kitchen. When I walked in, I had to fucking laugh. Petite Bella Swan stood at her kitchen counter holding a meat tenderizer as she pounded away and what—upon closer inspection—now seemed to be massacred chicken. It was past tenderized.

"You know, I could refer you to a great anger management doctor," I spoke up, watching as she lifted her head to glare at me while continuing to pound the tenderizer into the… "What the fuck is it that you're punishing anyway?"

"It's chicken, and I'm tenderizing it, jackass!" she replied before putting it away.

"Doll, judging from the way it looks now, you tenderized that shit a long ass time ago. Now you're just being fucking inhumane."

"And like you give a fuck about what's humane and what's not," she laughed loudly.

"So, what's the chicken for?"

"Well, Einstein, I thought I'd pull some out and beat it a little bit, get that extra aggression out," she answered with a wink and smirk.

"You know what I fucking meant," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"I'm making Chicken Parmesan for dinner."

"You don't have to cook, Doll. We're just going to be getting drunk anyway," I told her with a shrug and took a seat on a barstool.

"When was the last time you had someone cook for you, Edward?"

Dammit, and in settles the guilt. She was fucking cooking for me. While I appreciated the effort and it was sweet and all that shit, I didn't deserve it. In my personal opinion, she should have been kicking my ass the moment I walked in the door. My mind didn't get too carried away though because before I fucking knew it, she'd slapped me upside the fucking head. My head whipped to the side as I fixed her with a fucking glare. No one got away with that shit.

Ever.

But for some fucking reason, I remained silent and stayed with the murderous stare.

"Don't give me that fucking look, Eddie. I told you that I wasn't going to stand for you to talk about yourself that way, and I could see the damn wheels in your head turning. Earlier today, things got out of hand and emotions ran high, that's all. You were right in the things you said, plus you'd been through hell."

"Yeah, but just because I was right, doesn't make it right, Bella. And for future fucking reference, don't ever hit me in the head like that again, and I'm saying that as nice as I possibly can. That shit is the best way to piss me off and I don't take lightly to it."

Another thing that had come to my attention was that after slapping me, she hadn't taken her hand out of my fucking hair. She…wait…was she?

She was fucking playing with my goddamn hair!

"So not what I expected," she muttered to herself as she stared at her hand moving in my hair as if it was the eighth wonder of the world.

"I'm sorry, what? And what the fuck are you doing?"

"Your hair, it's so misleading."

Completely unfazed, or oblivious to my struggle, she leaned in further and continued in her play. "I can't fucking figure it out. When you look at it, it seems like you haven't run a brush through it since Jesus was a baby. It just looks like a matted rat's nest and I was actually weary on making contact with it, but now that I have…it's so fucking soft," she murmured.

Okay.

Time out.

What the fuck? Seriously?

I reached up and took hold of her wrist, pulling her hand from my so called 'rat's nest' and leaned back as far as I could without falling out of my seat. I needed distance from her scent and her fucking inviting cleavage. "Are you fucking stoned or some shit?" I asked her with a humorless laugh.

Again, she caught me off guard and moaned. Need I point out why that was fucking bad for me? "No, but believe me, after the day I've had, I fucking wish I was."

Thankfully, that seemed to distract her from my hair as she went back to preparing dinner.

"So, what the hell went down after I left?"

Her eyes cut across to me and I swear that I fucking saw her lip curl. "Long story short, Carlisle is what happened. Fucking everything was fine until he provoked me. I was forced to hand his ass over to him, and—I won't go into detail—but it pushed me to the point of needing to go outside for air before I knocked the ever-loving fuck out of someone. Then Emmett fucking came outside while I was talking to you on the phone and instead of walking away, he stood there and eavesdropped. So my guess on Alice finding out would be from Emmett, or Emmett told Jasper and he told her."

"What did Carlisle say to you, Bella?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Don't worry about it, Edward. It would only hurt you more, and I won't do that. I won't be a messenger, either."

"So, it was in regards to me?" I scoffed and looked down. I fucking hated my life.

"I said don't worry about it. Tell you what, how about you break open one of those bottles of liquor?" she suggested, raising a brow at me.

"What's your poison?" I shot back.

"What ya got?" she asked. That was a fucking loaded question and thank fuck she wasn't on the other side of this counter in viewing distance of my fucking traitorous groin. I busied myself and began pulling out the bottles I'd brought as she attended to something else in the kitchen.

"I think I'm gonna fix myself a crown and coke," she sighed all happy and shit as she walked over to the fridge.

"Grab two of those cokes, Doll."

As she dug in the fridge for the cokes, I quickly averted my gaze to a far corner of the kitchen, not fucking stupid enough to look at her bent over.

"Hey, I never did thank you for getting my groceries. How much do I owe you?"

I shook my head at her. Go figure, the one good thing I've done for somebody in a long time, and she expects that she has to pay me back. "Nothing," I responded nonchalantly as I got up and grabbed a couple of glasses from her cabinet.

"Oh hell no," she exclaimed in a low tone. "There's no way I'm letting you foot the bill for my groceries, Edward. You completely stocked my kitchen. I want to pay you back."

"I said no," I ground out. "Look, if you're really set on paying me back, double the batch of cookies or whatever it is you decide to make me, but please, just let me do this one fucking thing for you okay?" I watched her, waiting for her to nod her head or some shit to let me know that she was cool with it.

I didn't know why that particular moment brought it to light, but suddenly, I could fucking see her stress written all over her. Her mannerisms, her facial expressions…it seemed like she had a huge weight on her chest, and I completely didn't understand it.

As her hands began to shake while pouring our drinks, I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Hey, why don't you come have a smoke with me?"

"It'll be finished in just a minute. As soon as I put the chicken in and the timer set, I'll go outside. I understand if you need some air though."

"Okay, what the fuck just happened, Doll? You were fine a second ago and now you look like I just ran over your fucking dog. Was it something I said?"

Catching me off guard, she actually fucking snickered at that and slapped my arm.

"You can talk to me, Bella," I whispered, hoping that she wasn't suddenly thinking about fucking shutting down on me.

"I know that. I'm just fucking afraid that by the time I'm done talking, you're going to believe that's the only fucking reason I came here."

Fuck. I hadn't thought of that. Was it possible? Could this shit with Bella all be an act? Was this my family's final ploy at fucking with my life?

I know, I know I said that we would have Bella's story in this chapter, but they all got carried away in this one and there was no stopping them.

I split the chapter into two parts and the second one will be up either tomorrow or Friday. That's a promise!

Thanks for reading and leave me some love~!

T