Stephenie Meyers owns Twilight, I do not. This plot however did spark from my twisted Reality TV loving mind and I decided to run with it. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this mayhem.

A/N: I'm so sorry this chapter took me a little while. I could give you a million excuses but to sum it all up, my own RL has been a total bitch. Lots of drama with this chapter... hang in there. *wink*

Lines Crossed Mistakes Made

Chapter 11

~~*Edward*~~

The next morning I was up before the sun was even peeking through our window. I'd barely slept the night before, and when I had, it certainly wasn't restful. All I could think about were the dozens of different scenarios that could have taken place at Aro's last night after I'd left Bella at his place.

I never should have left her behind. She was in a vulnerable state, and I knew it. But still, I'd left her behind to face the fucking wolf in sheep's clothing, and now she was paying the price for my inability to man up.

There wasn't a doubt in my mind, he'd done something physically to hurt her, or he'd said something that had ultimately torn her apart when she'd come clean about her ways. It wasn't like her to show weakness, at least not to the point where she would shed actual tears. She'd looked horrified last night after letting just one single tear slip during our talk on the beach. It just wasn't in her nature to show that kind of emotion. So for her to have broken down the way she did, whatever had happened… it was fucked, and I was going to get to the bottom of it.

"You're up early." James greeted me in the kitchen while he poured himself a cup of coffee by the sink, eyeing me suspiciously.

"So are you," I mumbled in return, then grabbed the keys from the counter top, praying he wouldn't ask any questions.

"Edward, it's hardly seven thirty, where the hell are you going?"

And cue the interrogation.

My goal was to be gone before the camera guys got to the house at eight. So spending time with James, here in the kitchen, was not a wise move. The last thing I needed was Bella catching my confrontation with Aro on TV at a later date, after she'd had time to get over it.

I knew there was a very good chance she would need time to get over it, but it was a risk I was willing to take.

"I've got to go talk to someone," I replied calmly, avoiding his eyes, then grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and told him I'd be back in less than an hour. Hopefully.

"Whoa, hold on. Slow down. If you're going where I think you're going- you need to stop and consider what you're about to do," James suggested, blocking my path with his arm.

"What happened last night, James? Tell me the truth." I crossed my arms in front of me and narrowed my eyes in his direction, watching carefully for his expression.

He frowned, shook his head, then shrugged his shoulders lightly after releasing an exaggerated sigh. "I have no idea. I just know she was upset about something during the drive home. I mean, she and Aro seemed okay when we left, but she didn't say a word the entire time we were in the car. She barely even looked at us. Demetri brought us back, though, so I didn't get to see her interact with Aro for very long. She'd sent Tanya and I a text, asking if we were ready to go, so we met her downstairs and when we got there she was already outside waiting by the car. I swear, Edward, she seemed fine till we were getting in the car. I saw them say goodnight, so she wasn't angry with him. If we had said a word to her, though, I was sure she'd break down, I could see it on her face. I was hoping you wouldn't notice, especially after she went to bed before you came out from the computer room. I didn't want to bring it up last night. She needed space and time to deal with whatever it was that was bothering her. You know how she is."

I groaned and leaned against the wall, tossing the apple back and forth in my hands, "When I went upstairs she was crying, I mean really crying."

"So what are you going to do, just go over there and talk to Aro before you even try to talk to her? How do you think that will go over?" James questioned, trying to point out the obvious.

I'd already decided she'd probably be a little mad at me, it was worth the risk though, because I also knew she'd never tell me the truth about what had happened. I needed to know, otherwise the worst would be in the back of my mind and the next time we saw Aro I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut. Losing my temper in front of Bella was out of the question.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. She's not going to tell me, and if he hurt her, he deserves what's coming to him. I'll be back soon," I sternly told him, then pushed by his body to head towards the front door without saying anything else.

After leaving the house I decided to drive around town till eight. I had to be sure I was mentally prepared to hear whatever it was Aro had to say, because if he said the wrong thing, it would be hard for me to hold myself back from putting him in the hospital.

It was just my luck that he'd already be up and outside his house washing his fancy little vintage truck that I already wanted to take a baseball bat to.

He looked up and smirked after noticing it was me getting out of the van and I instantly felt my hands ball themselves up into fists at my sides.

Lord help me, if he doesn't clean that smile off his face before I'm within distance to throw him to the ground, he's going to be eating the damn dirt, and my fists for breakfast.

"Morning, Edward. I'm surprised to see you this early, and without a camera crew, too. What can I do for you?" the slime ball carefully asked after dropping his soaked sponge into the bucket of water by his feet.

"I was hoping you could clear some things up for me, Aro," I was trying my best to stay calm while keeping my eyes locked with his, but all I could think about was pounding my fist into his smug face.

"Oh yeah? What about? I'm assuming this visit has something to do with our girl Bella."

Mother fuck.

All it took was that one three letter word.

O-U-R

My hands were instantly grasping his shirt while the rest of my weight pushed him up against his truck with a swift extension of my arm.

"Listen, you fuck, what the hell did you do to her!" I yelled, my face inches from his while we glared into each others eyes, nostrils flaring. After a few seconds his smirk returned, and I pushed him back further, praying that he would say one more smart ass thing so I'd have the permission I needed to introduce him to my fist. "Tell me what you did!" I demanded.

"I didn't do a fucking thing! Christ! Back the hell up man!" He shoved me back away from him, and smoothed his shirt down in front of his chest while shaking his head slowly in my direction. "Nothing that took place here was without her permission. If you want to know what happened, I suggest you talk to her, because it's obvious you haven't, otherwise you probably wouldn't be here. No- scratch that. I know you wouldn't be here. The evening Bella and I shared was entirely consensual, and I've got to say, I'm pretty pissed you would think otherwise."

"Then why was she crying when she got home?" I spat back, taking a step closer to him again, my fists drawn at my side.

"Hell if I know… though… let's think for a minute. Where were you last night, before she got home. What did you do after you left here? Perhaps, Edward, her being upset had nothing to do with me at all. Did you even stop to consider that?" he asked, smirking again. "I swear on my life, everything that happened between her and me, she asked for, and wanted. You might not think too highly of me, but I'd never force her to do anything she wasn't comfortable with. I'm not that kind of an asshole."

What the hell is he talking about… what about me? We weren't talking about me. She left him and came home crying. She hadn't just left me. This has nothing to do with me!

But then it hit me.

Shit, why hadn't I considered it before?

Maybe because you were only out trying to do what she was out trying to do so it didn't seem like that big a deal?

Tits-for-tat in the distraction department.

"You told her I left the bar with someone," I replied just above a whisper, shaking my head and feeling pissed with myself for being so incredibly weak.

She had been upset because she thought after spilling her guts to me and baring her soul, that I had, in turn, run off to sleep with the first thing that spread its legs for me. I was no better than every other man she'd ever come across in her life, only looking for a quick, and easy lay.

Just as these thoughts began to settle, someone stirred from Aro's house, and I felt my jaw drop as I processed what I was seeing.

The same fucking female who may have assisted in causing Bella to take five steps back from me… the same woman who I'd ultimately walked away from before getting my dick wet, was now walking out of Aro's house with her shoes draped over her shoulders and a smug smile on her face.

"Morning, Edward."

My mind was quickly calculating what all this meant.

Was the entire thing a set up? Did this mother fucker actually arrange it all once he saw me return to the bar, looking for the rest of my friends?

No. Fucking. Way.

"Seems when you couldn't take care of things, Heidi found another outlet that could give her what she needed. You missed out, she's a pretty phenomenal lay. You're what now, zero and two with the ladies when it comes to actually sealing the deal with your cock, Cullen?"

"You fucking prick!" I was seeing red, and my hands were once again clenched to his shirt, pressing him with force against his truck.

"Oh Lord, here we go," Heidi snickered, then rolled her eyes watching our exchange. "Aro, honey, thanks for another memorable night. Edward, I suggest you jump on your white horse and get your shit worked out with that roommate of yours. You two obviously have huge issues."

I sneered at her advice and loosened my grasp on Aro's shirt after my initial anger began to subside.

I didn't need to go to jail over this asshole, but if he said another word to me I knew that's where I would be heading. Especially with someone here as a witness.

"You made your choice. You shouldn't be mad at me. If there's anyone to be mad at it's yourself, bro. All I did was tell Bella the truth. Its obvious you haven't made her your priority, so why should she make you hers? I gave her the push she needed so I'd get what I wanted. It wasn't hard, and don't act like you've never in your life done the same thing with a girl. You may not want to admit it, but you and me, we're a lot a like Edward. To be totally honest, that small fact actually made it all incredibly easy for me, so thanks for being so predictable. Seriously." And with the completion of his last sentence, after Heidi had already driven away, my fist met his face knocking him backwards into his truck again.

For a moment he looked completely shocked, and then slightly angry, but the fucker only chuckled in response after straightening himself back up again.

"Nice follow through, Edward. I'm impressed. I'm not going to fight you, though. This is all part of the game. My advice to you, the quicker you learn to play along, the further along you'll get. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do, and Bella and I have plans for lunch this afternoon so I need to get back to work here." Aro shared with another smirk after using the back of his hand to wipe the blood from his lip that my fist had brought on.

My head was spinning. Was it really possible for someone to be this manipulative. What were the chances that he'd actually planned and calculated all of this from the very beginning?

Fuck me. Chances were good because he was right. I had been him before. I knew all these tricks, and I'd used them more than once in my life when it came to dealing with a pair of legs and a set of tits.

You are the thing you hate the most. Way-to-go, Cullen. No wonder she likes the both of you. Apparently, you both carry the gene for potential douche-bag-ism.

It was obvious to me now that I should have listened to James. I never should have come here.

"If I find out you're lying. If you did anything to her, I swear to God, this won't be the last time my fist sees your face," I warned with my teeth clenched.

"I meant what I said. She left my bedroom smiling," he replied bluntly, and touched his lip again before licking the returned blood from the corner of his mouth. "Here's another heads up for you, though, because I'm in a giving mood this morning. She doesn't want to be changed, Edward. You can't force her. Girls like her, they're unfixable. The sooner you accept that, the more fun you'll be able to have with her, and I think you'd agree with me, she can be a lot of fun."

I glared in his direction and kept my mouth closed with my fists drawn at my sides. I wasn't going to say anything else. I wouldn't give him the benefit of knowing he'd gotten further under my skin.

The entire drive back to the house my mind was racing. I'd just crossed a major line going to see Aro, that was fact now. I knew I'd broken all kinds of rules. If I had taken a minute to really think about it, instead of letting my testosterone get in the way of my logic, I would have realized James was right before walking out the front door this morning.

Obviously things were okay between them if she'd made plans to see him for lunch today.

I was more than screwed, and a part of me didn't want to return to the house at all today. When Bella found out I'd gone to see Aro she was going to be angry, and she was going to need time to cool down.

Time away from me.

Far, far away from me.

The all-I-want-to-do-is-fuck bartender buddy of hers was a smart mother fucker, I'd give him that. Calculated, planned, and well played.

After I pulled up to the house, I ran my hands through my hair, took in a deep breath, and let my head fall onto the steering wheel in front of me.

I jumped in my seat when a tap came from the window. After glancing upward, I found Alice smiling behind her sunglasses with a beach bag draped over her shoulder.

"Just in time. Tanya, Rose, and I are going to go down to the beach for a little while so we need to use the van."

"Oh, um. Okay… want me to drop you off?" I asked, hoping desperately for a reason to leave the house again.

"Nah, James said he would drive us. Emmett is out back lifting weights," she told me, then frowned before adding Bella had been up, but that she'd climbed back into bed after using the bathroom. "Did something happen last night? She didn't say much when she got home. I was too excited with James' news to really realize it till this morning."

"I don't know. I don't think so, not with Aro. I mean something did happen, but I think it was my own fuck up," I admitted after releasing a forced breath from my lips. I slowly turned myself around so she'd miss my beat up expression and opened the van's side door, letting her in after I'd noticed everyone else was on their way down the walk way.

"Crap, are you serious? Now what did you do?"

If there was anyone in the house I'd be comfortable talking to about this, I knew it was Alice, but I wasn't about to get into it with everyone else just a few feet away from us.

"Yeah, it's a long story, but I have to go try and make it right. It's probably good you guys are going to be out of the house," I replied honestly, then noticed Jasper creeping off to the side of us, with his camera carefully zooming in on our exchange. The sight of him forced me to let out another exasperated breath.

I was already annoyed.

Things were going to get ugly, and it was all going to be caught on tape.

Fucking fantastic. Well at least the scummy producers will be happy.

"Have fun," I mumbled to the girls just as James caught me by the arm to pull me towards the sidewalk.

"What happened? What did he say?"

"Did you know they have lunch plans today?" I asked, sounding more than disgusted by the news that had left my own lips.

"No. Like I said, she didn't say a word after we left his house. Is that what he told you?" my housemate asked again, pressing further while the girls eyed us suspiciously from inside the van. "So then it wasn't anything he did?"

"I may be giving him more credit than he deserves, but I'm pretty sure he set me up, and now I have to go explain myself so I can try and make it right. I know I'm screwed, though. So, yeah… take your time playing taxi driver,"

"Want me to get Emmett out of the house with us?" James offered, but I shook my head in response.

"Nah, it's cool. I may need him to come to my rescue if Bella really loses her temper. Drive safe," I told him with a forced smile, then slapped his shoulder with my opened hand before walking past him to head up to the house.

When I got inside, I went into the kitchen to grab a bottled water and glanced out back, where I saw Emmett lifting weights in the corner like a giant gorilla. He was lost in his repetitions so I didn't bother him. Instead, with Jasper following closely behind me, I made my up the stairs where I found Bella still curled up in her bed facing the window of our shared room with the curtains drawn. She stirred from under her comforter when the beaded curtain brushed together, creating a tiny alarm that someone had reentered the room. I heard her release a soft yawn and watched as she stretched her limbs out below her sheets before she pulled her pillow out from under her head to drop it over her face with a forced huff.

Well, Cullen, you're about to ruin everything you've worked so hard to achieve over the last few weeks, a voice prompted in the back of my mind while I continued to silently watch her. Mind your honesty, and watch your words because these next few minutes could decide the next two and a half months.

I could hear her mumbling from beneath the feathered bedding and smiled for a moment, realizing she was giving herself a talking to. The words, stupid, and fuck were definitely popular in the muffled rant she was unleashing upon herself.

Reluctantly, I cleared my throat, exposing my position. I watched, finding a smile again, as her body stilled itself before she slowly began to pull her pillow deeper against her face.

She was no doubt trying to suffocate herself now.

I heard a mumbled greeting of 'good morning,' come from beneath the feathers and frowned after realizing she was going to do her best in order to avoid any kind of real conversation that might involve talking about last night's events.

"Everyone's left but Emmett. He's out back pumping iron," I informed her, still with her pillow covering her face.

"Where'd they all go?" she asked after finally revealing her puffy eyes to me. I smiled watching her drop her pillow back behind her body before she sat up against her head board with another soft yawn escaping her widely parted lips.

"Beach," I answered back, waiting for her to actually make eye contact with me. She didn't and I huffed like a cave man, "Bella."

"It's another day, Edward. A fresh new morning. Let's not start it with unpleasant conversations, okay?" she requested just above a whisper after finally looking me in the eyes. I watched her get up from her bed to get a change of clothes from the dresser we shared, then cleared my throat again. Jasper was, of course, already set up in the corner of the room with his camera placed securely on his shoulder pointed in our direction.

"We have to talk about it, Bella, I need to know why you were upset."

"Well I wish I could tell you, because it's a mystery to me as well. I think I was just being hormonal. I can get like that. I have a vagina, it's allowed."

"Don't blame last night on PMS, Bella. You were upset, and I know you don't get upset like that," I sternly replied, crossing my arms in front of me as she mirrored my stance with her own narrowed eyes glaring into mine.

"Really, and tell me, Edward, just because I've told you a few things about my fucked up past, do you really think you know me all that well? You do realize we only just met, barely two weeks ago. For all you know, I'm a pathological liar, and everything I've told you thus far is nothing more than a made up persona, to create good television," she teased with a forced grin, obviously trying to make a joke out of our conversation. She was working hard to put on an act. She desperately wanted to believe that everything was alright, even though we both knew nothing could be further from the truth.

She was right about one thing, though, we hadn't known each other for very long, but that didn't mean shit to me because in the last two weeks she'd let me in on more than she'd realized. "Yeah, Bella, I think I do know you. Better than you know, or want to admit," I calmly answered then asked her to come sit back down with me so we could talk things out.

"There's nothing to talk about. You left me at Aro's. Aro came home, I came clean about you and me, Aro and I hung out, I came home and went to bed. I've warned you about this, Edward, you're not supposed to ask me questions about my other friends. That's a major deal breaker. I won't question you about your shit, and you don't question me about mine. Those are the rules, and it's the only way this will work."

"Bella, listen. I did something stupid…"

"Uh-oh. What now?" she toyed casually, flipping her dreads back behind her shoulders with a brush of her hands.

I took a deep breath and ran my hand threw my hair while shifting my weight nervously beneath me, "Look, I talked to Aro. I know he told you I left the bar with someone. But what I don't know is if you were upset over that, or if it was something else. I need you to talk to me, because if it was me, it's not what you think," I finally got out after grabbing her by the hand so she wouldn't be able to easily walk away from me.

There was dead silence in the room while she processed my words. I watched her eyes go from soft and desperate, to guarded with fury. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they fixed themselves into a heated stare as her thoughts spun around the information I had just shared with her.

And then it came.

"You did, WHAT?" She yelped, forcefully yanking her arm free from my grasp while her eyes continued to glare in my direction, "What the fuck do you mean you talked Aro, you talked to him where? When? This morning! Please tell me that he came here, because I swear to God, Edward, if you," She stopped for a moment to take a breath then took another step back while her eyes scanned my body up and down with confusion.

"You wouldn't talk to me, I was sure he'd done something. I couldn't stop thinking about it, I was up all night, so I wasn't thinking straight when I drove over to his place. I had to know if he'd done something to hurt you," I reluctantly explained.

"I told you last night, Aro was a total gentleman, Edward. Who the hell are you to go and talk to anyone about me? You have no right! You are NOT my keeper!" she screamed, her face turning red from anger while she pointed her index finger in my direction. "What I do, is my business. No one else's. Not yours, not Aro's, not James'. Not Jake's, Sam's, Paul's, Eric's or Embry's. NO one's! I cannot even BELIEVE you would go see Aro. What was the point? If he had done something to me, what would you have done? Hit him? If there's anything I can't stand its guys wanting to act like macho little shits, who think they own something, when they fucking DON'T!" she yelled at the top of her lungs before shoving me backwards with both of her hands. "What were you hoping to hear? That he forced himself on me? He didn't force me to do anything, Edward. Everything that happened was entirely sought out by me. If you want the details, fine. First he took me upstairs to his room. When we got to his room, he wasted no time to push me back onto his bed. Once I was laying on his bed, entirely willing, he climbed on top of me where I quickly pulled his shirt from his body so I could feel his skin against mine…"

"Bella, stop." I ordered, feeling my own anger begin to rise.

I didn't need to hear this shit. She was well aware of that and only trying to push me away further.

Her eyes continued to glare in my direction, with her breathing heavy while her head moved, slowly shaking itself back and forth with a snarl across her lips. "I can't- I can't even look at you right now. I just can't believe you would go and do that. Why did you have to do that? I trusted you." I watched her face crumble once more with her final words before she stomped herself into the bathroom, instantly slamming the door behind her.

I let out a frustrated grunt of my own and grabbed my skateboard from the top of the dresser.

Never in my life had I seen a female get so angry without shedding a tear. I mean she was just… livid and full of emotion, but she was no where near crying. She felt betrayed and I had been the betrayer. The worst part being, she had every right to be pissed off at me and to feel the way she did. With my actions this morning I'd most likely set us back weeks. As much as I didn't want to admit that, it was the truth, and it was now my reality.

I tucked my board under my arm, knowing she wouldn't want to see me when she came back into the room, and quickly headed down stairs with Jasper on my heels. Once through the doorway, I caught Emmett standing at the foot of the staircase with a worried expression on his face.

"Dude. What the hell happened?" he asked scratching his head with confusion.

"I fucked up. She let me in, and I fucked it all up. I have to get out of here, she's not going to want to see me. If you guys need me I'll be over at the abandoned school letting out some steam on my board." I told him, doing my best to avoid his stare. I didn't wait for him to respond. It was pointless. Nothing he could say would make any of it better. I'd dug my own grave, now I would lie in it till Bella was ready to dig me back out again.

The sun was getting ready to set, signaling that it was time for me to call it a day and head back to the war zone. This was nothing new for me. Spending an entire day by myself skating used to be my norm. Hell, I used to do it all the time back in Cali when shit would start to pile up. I did find it a bit ironic, though, that the last time I'd needed such a day had also been the last time a female had gotten under my skin.

That realization alone was enough to fuck with my head and keep me away from the cement pool for most of the day.

When I got back to the house, things were quiet, and I was cautious. After setting my board up against the wall beside the foot of the staircase by the front door, I made my way into the kitchen where I found Tanya cooking at the stove. Alice was chopping vegetables at the counter while everyone else laid around in the living room with various forms of reading materials in front of them.

Bella was noticeably absent.

"Hey," I cleared before pouring myself a glass of water at the sink.

"Dude, we were about to send out a search party," Emmett announced, sitting up from the couch where he'd been laying with Rose under his arm.

"You knew where I was," I answered firmly.

"Yeah, I know. But all freaking day?"

"Where's Bella?" I asked to no one in particular. I watched as they all glanced nervously between one another then answered my question for them, "Still out with Aro. Super."

"What the hell happened? Emmett said you guys had a fight?" I couldn't help but note the hint of excitement in Tanya's voice after she'd covered her pan on the oven and turned around to face me. Alice threw me a sorrowful look, and I shrugged at first in response.

Jasper was stationed in the corner of the room with his camera not missing a thing, as per usual, so it was important that I watched my words while I gave a brief rundown of everything that had occurred since last night, skipping over the details of Bella's past. That was her story to tell, not mine.

"So, I don't get it, though, what was she upset about then?" Rose questioned with a huff after sitting herself up on the sofa beside Emmett once I was through.

"I don't know. She never actually told me," I answered calmly before letting out a aggravated sigh.

Stop that. You sound like a pussy shit when you do that crap, I instantly prompted myself. I didn't need my roommates to know just how frustrated I was over all this.

"Bro, she was fucking pissed when Aro got here with a fat lip. I can't believe you actually hit him. I mean, I can, I'm surprised you hadn't done it sooner, but still. I'd keep my distance if I were you. From her, and him. At least for a little while," Emmett carefully suggested just as the door chirped that someone new had entered the house. I grimaced at the thought that Aro's smug face would be rounding the corner at any second.

Thankfully, Bella was alone.

The room stayed silent while she made her way towards the cabinet to pull a glass down from the shelf. All eyes were on her as she reached up to grab the bottle of vodka from the top of the fridge, still without saying anything to the room. She filled the cup half way with the clear liquid before mixing in a splash of orange juice, then asked Tanya how long it would be before dinner was ready.

"Um, er… twenty minutes if the stupid potatoes would soften the hell up. These things are still just as hard as Demetri's dick was last night! How was your afternoon Bella?" Tanya casually enquired while her eyes scanned our closed off roommate suspiciously.

"It was nice, thanks. Aro took me up the coast to see a secluded part of the beach. We started to write a new song together. I think it's going to be pretty great, so I'm excited," she answered calmly, then made her way past me without even looking in my general direction. Jasper crossed in front of me, getting a shot of my face while I watched her walk away. I frowned, realizing I was still allowing myself to look like a total push over on camera, and it was all her doing.

"Bella, can we talk outside for a minute?" I asked before even considering my words.

"Um, no. We talked enough this morning. I have nothing else to say to you. When I do have something to say, I'll let you know. Until then, I'd appreciate it tremendously if you stayed the hell out of my way," she bluntly replied, still without looking in my direction as she made her way towards the computer room. I felt my eyes narrow, and my fists ball up at my sides over her cold response.

Stay calm. You knew this was how it would be, a voice reminded me, but I of course ignored it's warning.

"Fine. If you want to act like a child, so fucking be it," I grunted in return then tossed my own glass into the sink with a loud crash. I needed to get out of here before I said something else. There was nothing that infuriated me more than a female who refused to talk when I was fucking willing. If she couldn't appreciate the fact that I was stepping out of my comfort zone for her, since arriving here in South Carolina, then there was no point in even trying. At least not right now. So I'd give her what she wanted. I'd stay the hell out of her way. She'd be back. The only question was, how long would it take, and would I still be waiting?

*~~JAMES~~*

After Edward threw his minor temper tantrum and stormed out of the kitchen over Bella's refusal to discuss things any further, I followed her into the computer room in hopes of getting a little more information out of her. If my suspicions were correct, based on what I'd gathered already, Bella was mad at Edward and this really had nothing at all to do with Aro.

I mean, obviously she and the bar boy were fine. They'd just spent the entire afternoon together writing music, while just the presence of Edward had sent her into total shut down mode. Bella was an interesting specimen. She didn't react to things the way most women would, but at the same time she was entirely predictable to me. I guess in a way, she reminded me a lot of my sister back home. Although, my sister used her self-asserted independence to climb a corporate ladder and forget about her friends and family, while Bella chose to climb aboard a Merry-Go-Round of dicks for an endless cycle of emotionless boning.

I knew on our way to Aro's last night, that something would happen. Her and Edward would share some kind of bonding moment, and then he'd leave her behind to clean out her skeletons with Aro. Once alone with the brooding wannabe musician slash bartender, she'd fall into bed with him in hopes of making it all okay and more believable that she wasn't actually falling for our housemate in a more than friends kind of way.

Even though it was absolutely obvious to me that she was already tumbling hard, and fast, for her green eyed, breathtakingly beautiful roommate… for whatever reason she was refusing to accept it.

The man was insanely hot, though, which made it all seem slightly ridiculous to me. As a gay man, there was no way I could ignore that tiny factoid.

The pretty boy likes you. Accept it, love it, hope for the best, then see what happens. It's what any normal person would do. The drama that always came along with sex was to be expected. At least it would be to anyone else who grew up with a normal circle of friends.

They both had it bad, and I had been enjoying the show, until all hell broke loose this morning. Now I needed to step up and be the mediator they needed me to be because this wasn't going to work. They were only prolonging the inevitable, and I refused to stand by quietly while they continued to build walls around each other.

Thankfully, we'd gotten to be on good terms with the southern camera man who went by the name of Jasper, but as of late, I'd gotten the impression that he was being pressured to seek out the more dramatic moments in the house. Especially after he'd let Bella slip through his fingers a few nights back. I wasn't surprised when he followed me into the room before I could shut the door behind me.

Bella looked up from the computer screen in front of her, glanced me over, then took a sip from her magical elixir before placing the glass on the table top beside her. "What-up, James?"

"Just wanted to say hey, thought maybe you could use some company."

"You mean you wanted to see if you could get inside this stubborn, hypocritical, selfish thinking head of mine?" she smirked in response and returned her gaze to the computer screen while her fingers moved across the keyboard.

At least she had some of her sense of humor still lingering. That was a good sign. She wasn't in total Fuck-The-World mode.

I smiled and took a seat on the floor beside her, then gave her chair a light push with my foot, "Okay, I'm not going to beat around the bush, because we both know, I don't do bush," I explained with my own grin hoping to help her relax a little. "I realize I don't know you very well yet, I mean not as well as Edward, but I'm kind of worried and concerned about what happened last night. You don't want to talk to him. You need space. I get that. But you shouldn't keep it all bottled up. I'm here, with open ears. You can tell me anything, and I'll only listen."

She looked down into my eyes for a brief moment and frowned, then bit at her bottom lip the same way she always did when she was feeling nervous or exposed.

"He never should have gone to see Aro. That was not his place. I'm allowed to feel homesick; I'm allowed to get a little emotional when things start to feel heavy. He may not think it was like me to get upset, but that's just it. There's still a lot about me that he doesn't know, but he wants to act like he understands it all. He doesn't. He never will. Him starting shit with Aro, someone I consider a friend, after I'd specifically told him Aro had been a total gentleman towards me, it was fucked up James, and it crossed a very important line. I have every right to be pissed off. If I didn't have to live with him for the next ten weeks, I swear to God, he'd be permanently removed from my life."

"That's a lie, Bella. You know it wouldn't be that easy. You and Edward have a special connection. That's scaring you so you're…"

"I thought you said you were only here to listen," she grumbled, interrupting me while again avoiding my eyes.

"Yeah, I lied a little too," I replied in return, bumping her chair with my extended foot again. "You like him. It scares you. I get that."

"I hardly know him. He's good for oral pleasure and conversation, sometimes. There's nothing else going on. Him going behind my back, talking to Aro, then punching him! That tells me Edward obviously thinks there's something more going on here, so now it's up to me to make it clear that's not at all the case. I can take care of myself. I've done it all my life. I don't need handlers, and I certainly don't need some manwhore inserting himself into my affairs when he's no fucking better!" She was getting angry now, but there was still room for a little more prodding.

"Okay so you're mad at him for talking to Aro."

"I'm mad at him for going behind my back, and for hitting my friend when he didn't do a thing to deserve it," she corrected me with a frustrated huff before her hands pulled her hair up into a large chaotic looking pony tail at the top of her head.

I smiled at the sight and she rolled her eyes at me with a flustered sound escaping her lips.

"So then, what you're telling me, though… I mean, lets go back to where all this started. It started with you leaving Aro's looking as though your best friend had just been shot in the head right in front of you." I saw her flinch over my chosen comparison and stored her expression in my memory for further analysis at a later time. "You came home, didn't say a single word. Not to any of us. Then you went upstairs and according to him, you cried yourself to sleep. He was worried. I would have been worried. Anyone would be worried and concerned if they found their friend sobbing in the dark."

"Is it a crime now to cry? Jesus! I miss my friends. I miss my home. I miss the regularity of things I'm familiar with."

"Things, or feelings you're familiar with?" I pressed quietly, wishing now more than ever that Jasper would take a hint and leave us alone so I could make some real progress with her. I glanced at him and threw a pleading look, straight into the camera lens. He frowned in response and coughed lightly.

"Shit, my battery just died," he mumbled after a few seconds of internally battling right versus wrong when it came to handling the situation unfolding in front of him.

I smirked and nodded my head in thanks, then watched him leave the room, closing the door behind him, before I returned my stare to Bella.

"James, its. This… it's all just too much, way too fast. I mean, seriously too fast. I signed up to do this for three months of careless, mind-numbing fun. Not to face everything I've been running from all my life. I'm good on my own. I can't disappoint anyone but myself when all I've got is me."

Her words rang true to me, and I frowned, realizing that Bella really was a troubled soul.

"You're not alone, though. You have your boys back home. You can't tell me they don't watch over you."

"Like I told you, they know me. They know when to push, and they know when to back off. None of them would ever do what Edward did, not if I didn't ask them to," she admitted quietly just as the speaker on the computer announced she had a Skype call coming in. "I have to take this," she mumbled, throwing me one last glance with her lip between her teeth again.

"Okay, thanks for talking with me, and not shutting me out," I replied, slowly standing up to stretch my arms out in front of me.

"Yup. I just need time. Things weren't right. They weren't moving… naturally. I have to figure out how to get it all back on track again so I can stay true to myself and do what's best for me. I need to come first. Before anything else."

I understood what she was saying, but her honesty brought a fresh frown to my face. Quickly, I removed it and shook my head. "For what it's worth, Bella, he's really sorry. He's a man, and he cares about you. He reacted the way most friends would after they found someone they care about visibly upset. I think I need to remind you, you didn't grow up with a normal friend format around you. You can't look at Edward the same way you look at your boys back home. He's not the same."

She narrowed her brow at me and mumbled something under her breath, then brushed me away with a flip of her hand.

"Thanks for the more than obvious reminder."

Those were her final words to me before she answered the annoying ringing coming from the computer.

I'd gotten through to her, though. She didn't want to admit it, but I had. With my feelings of victory, I made my way back out into the living room and smiled, letting the rest of my housemates know everything had gone okay.

"She's just pissed. She'll come around. Give it a few days. She'll be back to the Bella we all met on our first night here soon enough. Mark my words."

~~*Edward*~~

Four more days had passed without Bella saying a single word to me. She'd barely acknowledged my existence let alone looked my way since our last run in with the entire house watching. Everyone seemed to understand this was something Bella and I needed to work out on our own, so they'd managed to stay out of it for the most part.

Well almost everyone. Even Rose had her limits, though.

"Rose, can you pass me the salad dressing?" Bella had just requested causing me to roll my eyes slightly.

This was nothing new.

The salad dressing was closer to me. So in theory, Bella should have been asking me for the stupid Fat Free Oil and Vinegar, no one else.

Rose snickered and made a big deal out of reaching for the bottle, then slid it across the table forcefully towards my roommate. "Seriously, Bella, I think were all pretty tired of this. How the hell are you two going to work together tomorrow if you can't even ask him for the goddamn salad dressing. He's sitting four feet away from you. Jesus fucking Christ. Get over yourself."

Everyone silenced after Bella impulsively dropped her fork to her plate in response. I prepared myself to jump from my seat to help Emmett in holding Bella back from pulling Rose's hair extensions from her head in retaliation.

Instead, she showed no sign of emotion. She simply stood up from the table, excused herself, then took her plate to empty its full contents into the trash and left the room. She'd already been drinking, most of the day, and it was evident in her walk when she left us all behind in the dinning room to escape towards the stairs.

"She's wasted and it's hardly even eight o'clock." Rose snickered under her breath before taking another bite of her food from her fork forcefully.

"She also barely ate anything; did you see her plate?" Tanya asked the rest of us. "I mean, I don't think I've seen her put anything but liquor in her mouth all day."

"Leave the girl alone. Starting work tomorrow will be good for her," James replied quietly then stood up to clear his own plate into the trash can and began rinsing it at the sink. Emmett had told me James and Bella talked the day of our big fight, but I hadn't asked him for any information. If he'd had permission to share anything with me, he would have, so I didn't press the matter. I was just glad she was talking to someone. Even if it wasn't me.

"Why will that be good for her? She's going to have to work with him, and she hasn't even looked at him in days," Tanya pointed out again, gesturing towards me with a wag of her finger.

I took in a deep breath then exhaled slowly, wishing I could hop into a time machine to take it all back. For the millionth time since my fuck up a few days ago, I wanted nothing more than to just start all over again.

I certainly wasn't looking forward to work tomorrow, but I was hoping it would give me the opening I needed to get back into her good graces. I mean, she'd have to speak to me if we were working together. She wouldn't have a choice.

Unless she puts in a request to be switched into another group.

Shit.

I let out another huff, then stood up to scrape my plate and followed James out to the porch, hoping I could get some advice from him since he seemed to somehow have a good read on Bella and her… ways. He didn't have to tell me what she told him. I only needed to know it wouldn't last much longer.

"I'm giving her space man, but this is tearing me a part. It be different if she wasn't spiraling the way she is. That's what I'm worried most about. She leaves in the morning, is gone all day with him, doing God knows what, but then she comes back and she drinks like a fucking fish to the point where she's passing out on the ledge outside our window with a cigarette in her hand. That's not normal, and it's not okay."

"She's working through it the only way she knows how, you just need to give her time. She'll come around. This won't last that much longer. From what she's told me, and don't you dare tell her I told you this, but she said things were happening too fast… with you, I'm assuming. Aro had nothing to do with it. She's mad at herself more than anyone else, though."

"That makes no sense, why would she be mad at herself?" I asked, feeling my frustration grow again.

"Sorry, man, that's all I can tell you," he answered back with a frown before crossing his arms in front of him.

"I have an idea."

"Uh-oh," James replied, this time with a slight smirk, "your last idea didn't work out very well, Cullen," he reminded me, and I rolled my eyes.

"I was thinking about contacting one of her friends from back home. She left her Skype open the other night, and I noticed one of the names. I may or may not have written it down. Maybe they've been through something similar with her. I'm just worried the drinking is going to take its toll. What if there's some history there, and she's on a path towards self destruction? I mean she was obviously already running from something when she signed up for all this."

"Edward, you got in trouble for going over her head to talk to one of her friends. Do you really think it's wise to do it again? Please listen to me this time. It's not a smart thing to do."

I growled on impulse and ran my hand through my hair aggressively, feeling my frustration rise even further. "No, you're right."

"Just give her a little more time. I think we'll start to see the old Bella really soon," James assured me, then pressed my shoulder with his hand.

I shook my head and leaned back on the bench we were both sharing. Even though I wasn't a religious man, I silently prayed that he was right, because I knew I couldn't take another day of this.

A/N: Bam. I told you there was going to be drama. Okay so to clarify... the truth about what really happened between Bella and Aro in his bedroom is still a mystery. So don't start hating on her just yet.

Big thanks to my amazing beta clarabella75, I work her butt off fo'real and she never complains! Also big hugs to my girl CC for looking over the outtake from CH 10 for me. I loves her HARD!

Soooooo did anyone watch tonight's first episode of the newest season of The Real World? I swear to god, I felt like I was watching IRL on my TV. It was insane, if you watched, you'll understand why. :P

Alright, thoughts, theories, feelings? What did Bella mean exactly when she said she trusted Edward during their fight? Was she really talking about him going to see Aro, or was she referring to something a bit deeper? Hmmmmmm... *wink*

I promise I won't take as long with the next chapter. Girl-scouts honor.

*Please review because you know I always pay it forward with something special, *wink*, and because it makes me smile.*