Disclaimer- The fabulous characters of my story belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and come from her Twilight series.

A/N- So, I had to write a talk for church this week, and I have been editing like CRAZY, therefore, longer waits on chapters. Plus, my 21 month old has decided it's time to go ahead and just start acting like a two year old now, hence many many temper tantrums. Needless to say I've been busy. But I finally got another chapter written (yay!) so here it is. Thanks so much for the great reviews I've been getting, I really appreciate them! I love hearing what you guys think about the story, both good and bad! Thanks, and I hope you enjoy!

She looked up forlornly at the house. Other than its occupants, it hadn't changed much. She pictured the cruiser parked in the drive and closed her eyes against the pain that hit her full force.

That was the worst part about not hiding anymore. When she thought of those things the pain wasn't as dull as it had once been. It was sharp and it pierced her. She couldn't imagine what her parents must have gone through. All because of her.

"Is this the first time you've been here?"

She whirled around to see Edward standing just a few feet back. She was always so caught up in her thoughts that she never noticed his approach the way she should have. "Yes," she said quietly as she turned to look back at it once again. "I…I don't even know what happened to them."

Edward cleared his throat slightly. "I do," he almost whispered.

She turned slowly to look at him again. Her face must have said it all, because she didn't have to utter a single word.

"I…did a little research," he admitted.

She swallowed hard and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them he had taken a step closer to her.

"Do you…want me to tell you?" he asked quietly.

She stared at him for a minute before nodding weakly. He hesitantly took a few more steps forward, until he was close enough to touch. She made no move to step back, only looking at him intently. He slowly reached his hand out and took hers in it.

As soon as he touched her she felt a jolt go through her. She felt her eyes widen as she continued to stare. He seemed to have some kind of reaction also; she heard his sharp intake of breath. She looked down quickly at their joined hands. She raised her eyes up to his again, a part of her brain telling her to pull her hand away. But she didn't listen.

Edward squeezed her hand slightly before speaking. "Charlie…had a heart attack," he said, his voice pained.

She closed her eyes, fighting back the sob she felt in the back of her throat. She felt Edward squeeze her hand again, and after awhile she opened her eyes again. He stared at her sadly. "My mom?" she croaked.

"She…she had another child."

She felt her eyes widen once again. "A…baby?"

"About a year after…it happened. It was a girl. She named her Marie Isabella," he continued softly.

Bella swallowed hard, saying nothing.

"She passed away when she was eighty five; Phil died ten years later."

"They were still married?" she asked in a daze.

"Yes."

"And their…their daughter?"

"She died just three years ago…cancer."

She stood there, lost in her own thoughts for awhile. "They all had really long lives," she mused.

"Yes, they did."

She glanced back at the house. "But not Charlie," she said sadly. "It's…it was my fault," she murmured.

Edward tugged hard on her hand and she whirled back around to look at him. "None of this is your fault Bella," he said firmly. "You have absolutely no blame here."

She only shook her head sadly.

"What happened to you was in no way your fault. It was mine Bella. Please, please understand that." He looked at her imploringly, and she quickly looked down at the ground. "I cannot bear for you to blame yourself, after all you have been through," he choked out.

She looked up at him again. His face was tortured. She longed to reach out and touch it, but she didn't dare. She didn't think she was ready for that. "It's not your fault Edward."

"Yes it is," he almost growled. "Everything that happened is my fault. Not only did I cause it, but I also failed to prevent it. And you must understand that. How could it not be my fault?"

"You can't take the blame for everything," she muttered. "Just because…" She trailed off, looking away again.

"Just because what?" She knew he was staring at her, but she refused to meet his gaze.

She sighed in frustration. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we…can we please just go?" She looked back up at him. He was staring at her, slightly confused, slightly frustrated himself.

"Of course," he said quietly.

She looked down to see their hands still intertwined. He began walking toward his car, never dropping her hand. She followed behind quietly. He opened her door without a word and then went around to his side.

The drive was completely silent. Bella stared out the window, thinking about everything she had just learned. And thinking about what she had almost said.

It wasn't Edward's fault. He couldn't take the blame for everything just because he hadn't wanted to be with her. That was his choice. And she couldn't hold everything against him for that.

She also couldn't let him hold everything against himself. But she wasn't ready to talk about that just yet. She was sure it would bring on pain that she needed to be prepared for, and she wasn't right now.

When they reached the school they went to their first class in silence. The rest of the morning proceeded that way, with them never saying a word to each other. When the bell for lunch finally rang Edward stood and waited for her to do so.

When she stood and looked at him he only stared back. But she knew what he was thinking. She nodded just slightly and they made their way to the cafeteria side by side.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed when they reached the table with their tray of food.

She gave her a small smile and sat down in the chair opposite her, Edward sitting next to her.

"It's about time," Emmett said with a big grin. His smile was totally infectious, and she couldn't help but grin back.

There was uncomfortable silence for just a moment before Emmett broke it. "So…heard anything interesting today Edward?"

"Not particularly," he replied.

"Oh come on…there has to be something."

"Hmmm…well, the captain of the football team is wondering whether he could take you on. He's contemplating starting a fight…he thinks it might impress Rosalie," he answered with a smile.

Alice snorted loudly. Bella just shook her head, smiling.

"Really?" Emmett said emphatically. "Well, maybe I should just have a little chat with him."

"Be serious Emmett," Rosalie said, swatting him on the arm.

"Awww, come on, I won't hurt him. I'll just…scare him a little." He grinned wickedly.

"Yeah, I'm sure Carlisle would love that," Jasper said, smiling despite himself.

Alice closed her eyes briefly. "No Emmett, that won't be such a good idea. I don't see it…ending very well."

"Always ruining my fun," he said with mock sadness, shaking his head.

"See what you've been missing Bella?" Jasper said, smiling at her. "But don't worry, you'll catch up fast. Emmett only wants to beat the crap out of people about every three days or so."

Bella laughed loudly, shaking her head. She saw Edward turn his head to look at her, an almost amazed look on his face. At first she was confused; but she quickly realized why as she looked around to see everyone else slightly surprised, trying hard to hide it.

She couldn't really remember the last time she had laughed. Or felt remotely happy. But here with them, being a part of their easy banter, really did make her happy. She felt almost…content somehow. And it felt nice, not to focus on the pain, not to feel totally empty. She found herself surprised that no part of her told her to force it away.

"Hey, in all fairness, it's usually the same people…I just refocus on them," he said, playing defensive, smiling at Bella.

"Yeah, I bet," she chuckled.

"How could he even wonder about that?" Alice asked. "Can he not see that you're about three times the size of him?"

"Well…he tends to be more focused on Rosalie than anything else," Edward said.

"Human boys usually are," Rosalie said nonchalantly.

"I'll give him something else to focus on," Emmett said, almost angrily this time.

"Knock it off," Rosalie admonished. "Who cares…it's not like it's a big deal."

Just then the bell rang and they all stood, making their way to their various classes. Bella, Edward, and Alice all went to their classroom, Edward sitting down next to Bella. When she looked over at him he smiled widely at her. She was in such a good mood that she found herself grinning back, then looked down at her desktop quickly.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and Bella found herself walking out toward the parking lot with Edward and Alice after the last class let out.

"Bella, please come over today before you have to be at work," Alice pleaded, looking at her imploringly.

"Uh, actually, I don't have to work today."

"Perfect! No excuses then," she said happily, looping her arm through Bella's and smiling.

"I'm getting the feeling I don't have an actual option here."

"If you'd like we can pretend that you do," Alice said pointedly.

"Alright," she sighed. "But if I hear anything about a mall, I'm gone."

"Awww, come…" She trailed off. She looked around quickly, sniffing the air. Both she and Bella stopped walking.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" Bella asked, wrinkling her nose. She looked over at Edward, whose lips were set in a grim line.

"It seems…that we have some visitors," he said harshly.