A/N: Sorry? And please please don't hate me for this chapter :(

Btw, all of your reviews are amazing. Thank you so much.

And this chapter is dedicated to my friend Nicole :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Like a Morning Fog

"I am gray today, gloomy and damp like a morning fog."

No, this couldn't be happening. Not again. Please, not again.

I stared at the small rectangular box in my hand, not quite believing what I was seeing – or perhaps I just didn't want to believe. It had to be Bella's; it was her bathroom after all. How had this happened? How could Bella have done this to me? Who was she sleeping with?

I reeled off names in my head, people I had seen at my birthday party two weeks ago. None of them quite fit… then it clicked.

Mike Newton.

I'd kill him. How dare he – how dare he even touch Bella? He had no right to sleep with her…

I fumed, crushing the box within my hand. I had to get out of here, fast, before I did something I'd regret.

I exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself. It would do no good to mention this to Bella. What could I say? That I knew she was pregnant? That I knew she had slept with Mike Newton?

No, I would not mention this to her. I would however need to sever all ties with Bella. That simply couldn't be helped. I couldn't be friends with her after this – certainly nothing more.

I reached this decision slowly, my temper evaporating each second. Stuffing the mangled box into my pocket – for some reason I had to keep it, as evidence for myself – I left the bathroom and went straight downstairs. I ignored Emmett and Jasper's expectant glances as I went through the living room to the French doors.

The air had a breeze to it now, in the late evening. It felt good to be outside, the cool air was calming. It helped to clear my head. I didn't remember the short journey from her house to mine, but the next thing I knew was I was facing Liz in the kitchen.

"Edward, you're home early." She commented, looking up from the onions she was chopping. "I didn't make dinner for you and Emmett, sorry, I assumed you would both be – "

I cut her off by raising a hand. "I'm not hungry, it's okay."

"Why aren't you at Bella's?"

"Bella has a date tonight."

My tone must have been more forlorn than I had intended.

"Oh," her face softened into a motherly expression, one I was quite familiar with, having seen my own mother wear it many times. "I'm sure everything will work out between you two eventually."

Observant, I'd give her that.

"There's nothing to work out. Everything's fine." I hoped she wouldn't notice how transparent the lie was.

She did, of course, but made do with a simple "Hmm." I was excused.

I rushed up to my room, needing solitude to gather my thoughts. My mind was still racing. I took the box out of my pocket carefully, as if I could damage it anymore, and memorized every piece of writing on it.

Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant.

I shook my head, as if I could somehow shake the thoughts out too. I had to get out of here. There was nothing else for it. I could see no other way to escape Bella. I couldn't stick out another two months here, watching her with this Mike.

My fury had returned at his name. I was angry as I began tearing the room apart, searching for items of clothing. I grabbed things randomly, stuffing them into my suitcase that I had found under the bed. All I could think of was her with someone else. Just like Tanya… What were the chances?

The doorbell rang downstairs, halting my movements. I froze, like a deer caught in headlights.

I heard muffled talking, two girls, one of them had to Liz…

Then I heard footsteps coming upstairs. I hastily tried to hide the suitcase under the bed again, but it was still peeking out from under the sheet when the door opened a second later.

Me expression turned stony when I saw who it was. She was wearing a red dress that fell just above her knees. Half of her hair was curled, parts not quite finished. She looked as if she had rushed over.

"Edward?" I turned my back to her, deciding I didn't care if Bella knew I was leaving. In fact, I wanted her to know – make her feel guilty about it even. I pulled the suitcase from under the bed and set it atop the comforter, continuing to toss things in. I ignored her completely.

"Edward, what's wrong?" she was scared.

I turned to face her, my expression probably still twisted with anger. She nearly gasped then.

" 'What's wrong?' What's wrong? Ha!" I laughed without humor. "Don't act stupid, I know." I was enjoying this now, I wanted to see the recognition on her face, then see the guilt. It was sick, yes, but I was too angry to care.

"You know what?"

"Ugh, would you stop treating me like I'm an idiot? I mean, obviously I am, since I thought I could trust you… I actually thought you were different, you know that? That you weren't like her, but no, you're all the fucking same."

"Like who? What exactly did I do? I'm obviously too stupid to realize, aren't I!" she was angry now too, shouting as well. Liz could probably hear everything downstairs.

"Just like Tanya, just like everyone." My voice was dead now, no feeling left. I was worn out. I looked up at her, to find her frozen. "Bella, just get out. I have packing to do."

"You're – you're leaving?" she choked out. She looked as if she was going to cry. My resolve almost broke at that – seeing her guilt didn't bring me the satisfaction I had thought it would.

"I'm going back to Forks."

"But, but, why?" she was crying now.

"For God's sake Bella, just leave. I don't want you here."

"You don't… want me?"

There they were – those damned words again. I'd have to lie; I couldn't let her see just how weak I was. Just how much she had hurt me.

"No."

I could see tears streaming silently down her face. She stared at me for one moment more, as if hoping I would change my mind. Part of me was hoping the same thing. Before I knew it she turned and left, slamming the door shut behind her. I heard her footsteps hurrying downstairs, through the hall, out the front door – slam!

And she was gone.

I heaved a sigh of – relief? Or was it grief? I tried to ignore the burning I could now feel in my chest. I realised quickly that it would be impossible, and I would just have to live with it. That didn't make it less painful though. In fact it seemed to be growing in intensity by the second. Suddenly the pain of it crushed me, and I collapsed on the bed, pushing the suitcase to the other side.

I closed my eyes, before I showed any more signs of weakness. I was alone, yes, but acknowledging this pain would only make it sting that much more. And besides, I knew Liz could come up at any moment.

Liz. I'd have to tell her. And Peter. And Emmett… would he follow? No, of course not, he was too happy with Rosalie.

I mulled these thoughts over, trying to find a way to tell Liz and Peter without hurting their feelings. That was impossible of course; they would feel it was their fault…

I sat up and picked my cell phone of the nightstand. First I had to sort out plane tickets. It would probably cost me a fortune on such short notice but I didn't care, I would probably have sold my car back home to pay for it if I had to.

I didn't have the number of course, but I knew someone who would. I didn't want to have to call him, but I had no choice.

"Emmett?"

"Edward, what the hell – "

"What's the flight company's number?" I said quickly, not wanting to explain anything.

"What – why?"

"Do you have the number or not?" I'm sure he heard my impatience.

"Well, yeah, I have it saved in my phone, but if I give it to you will you please tell me why you need it?" he rationed. He knew just how to deal with my… drastic tendencies.

"Fine, yes, just give me the number." At this stage I didn't care.

"Hold on." His voice sounded distant, as if he had taken the phone away from his ear. I heard a few buttons being clicked, before Emmett's voice returned.

I jotted down the number on my hand, grabbing the nearest pen possible.

"Now, why do you want it?" he asked, curiosity coloring his tone.

"Bella's pregnant and I'm going home." I hung up before he could reply. That was as much as he would get from me. Perhaps he'd tell Bella and she'd find out that I knew. As if I hadn't made it obvious enough…

I cringed as I thought of our conversation, if it could even be called that. I had been cruel, yes, but she had betrayed me in every way possible. I put my face in my hands, trying to hold back tears.

Real manly, Edward.

I hardly ever cried. I could only remember crying a handful of times in my life – it was just something I didn't do. The last time I had cried was at my grandmother's funeral five years ago.

And now I was crying over this? Insanity.

Why was I so hurt over something I had expected to happen? I deserved this, I had clearly put too much of myself out there, left too much of myself vulnerable.

I pulled myself together, brushing any moistness from my eyes. I looked at my hand, the numbers had gone blurry but were still legible. I picked up my phone again and slowly dialled the numbers with trembling hands.

"Good evening, American Airlines, how can I help you?" came a chirpy voice on the other end of the phone.

"I need to book a flight. And I need it as soon as possible."

The roughness of my voice shocked her, and she stuttered as she spoke. "Of course, sir, when is your departure date?"

"Today."

The flight flew by – excuse the pun. What had seemed like such a long journey before now slipped by in what seemed like minutes. Before I knew it I was collecting my single suitcase from baggage claim, and heading out the automatic doors into a dark, rainy night.

I was home.

As I hitched a cab I thought of Liz and Peter's reactions to my leaving. Liz had almost been in tears, asking me what was wrong, why I leaving so soon. Peter had remained silent throughout the entire exchange, but looked on with weary eyes. He drove me to the airport, not speaking a single word, but he seeming deep in thought. He finally spoke as I was getting out of the car.

"You're throwing away a good thing, Edward. I just hope you realize it before it's too late." He said gravely.

My eyes narrowed, before I nodded and unceremoniously shut the door.

I was brought back to reality with a wave in front of my face.

"Hello?" the taxi driver was looking at me oddly. "Where you headed, kid?" he asked, suspicion in his voice. It was 3am in the morning.

"Forks." My voice was hoarse.

"That's pretty far. It'll cost you."

I threw a bill at him, knowing it would be more than enough. His eyes bugged out as he took in the amount.

"Forks it is then."

The journey passed in a blur, minutes fading to hours. Occasionally the driver tried to start up a conversation, but my expression soon silenced whatever meaningless topic he had planned to discuss with me.

At some point I must have nodded off, because the next thing I knew I was being shaken awake by a pair of hands. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking them to clear the sleep that had formed in my slumber. My forehead was pressed up against the window, and I could see the sun was starting to rise.

"Hmm." I mumbled incoherently. I heard a chuckle.

"Kid, we're in Forks, where to?"

I turned quickly to face the driver. He was looking like he wanted me out of his cab as soon as possible.

I reeled off the address, looking out the window at my surroundings. Everything seemed so green. Nearly everything in Phoenix had been brown. Brown earth, stretching for miles.

The driver took a while to find my house. It was off the highway – as almost everything in Forks was – and down a lane. It was this lane the driver had trouble navigating. About two miles in he stopped, and I turned sharply to see why.

"I can't get by, you see those floods?"

I looked through the windscreen, squinting to see what he was talking about. Finally I spotted a large body of water about twenty feet in front of us.

"It's fine, I'll walk." I said, already opening my door.

"That water's got to be a foot deep!"

"I don't care. Thanks." The door shut with a bang.

I grabbed my trunk from the trunk and headed up the lane, trudging my way through various puddles as I went. I didn't care about getting wet. Good thing too, because the flood the driver had been talking about came up to my knees. This spot always flooded in heavy rain.

After wading through the water, I turned a corner and my house finally came into view.

Now came the hard part; explaining all of this to my parents.

I rang the doorbell, having forgotten my key. It was early, but I knew my father would be up; he started work at seven.

The wait was torture, it felt like minutes, when it fact it was probably less than one when the door swung open to reveal my father.

He was already dressed for work, and had a newspaper tucked under his arm. I had interrupted his breakfast.

His jaw dropped as he saw me.

"Hi, dad."

"Edward, what are you doing here?" his mouth still wide open as he gestured for me to come inside.

"I uh – decided to come home early."

"I see that. Why? What's going on? Did something happen while you were there? Is everyone alright?"

"No, nothing happened." I looked down. I was a bad liar at best, and my father could spot any untruths a mile away.

"Edward, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Please, just let me be alone."

"Does your mom know - ?"

"No, I knew if I told her I was coming home she'd just try to persuade me to stay."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Edward."

"Urgh, I don't want to talk about it, alright, Dad?"

His jaw tightened. I had never spoken to him like this.

"I know you're upset, son. But you can't – " he stopped as he took in my appearance. "Did you walk through the flood?"

"Yes." I couldn't meet his eyes. "Dad, please. I'll explain, just… not right now… I – I can't." My voice cracked at the end.

Comprehension dawned on his features. He knew now was not the time to push me for answers.

"You must be tired."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak anymore. Dad followed me down the hall and to the staircase.

"Your mother is still sleeping."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. I would be left alone until she woke up, but after that he couldn't be held responsible for what my mother would try to worm out of me.

I climbed the stairs slowly, and my dad watched, before turning and walking back to the kitchen. Suddenly the suitcase felt heavy in my hands. Heavier than before. The journey upstairs was a struggle in my sudden fatigue. I stumbled to my room, and to my bed, barely awake as my head hit the pillow. The pain and the exhaustion were too much to bear.

I was lying on a surgery table in a white room. But no, I wasn't supposed to be here, not again! I tried to move but I felt paralysed by some invisible force. What had they done to me? I felt a stab of pain in my chest. Suddenly Bella loomed over me, smiling gently. "I'm sorry, Edward." She was holding something… a red, muscled object, pulsing in her hand. I recognized what it was and opened my mouth to scream…

"Ah!" I sat up in bed, panting. I looked around me for some sign of Bella, but instead I was met with the sight of my mother, sitting on the black leather sofa across the room.

As soon as she caught my gaze she got up and pulled me into a hug. I felt comforted, if only for a moment. I felt like I was ten years old again. "Edward, what happened?" her voice was clouded with sobs. Was she that scared?

"Mom… things are… complicated…" I struggled to get the words out.

"What's wrong? Why… why did you come back? Not that I don't want you here but…" she pulled away and looked me in the eyes.

"It's hard to explain. I wouldn't even know where to start." I mumbled weakly, suddenly ashamed at my rash behavior. Yet I couldn't bring myself to regret coming home.

"Start at the beginning." She encouraged, pushing some hair out of my eyes. I looked down and realized I was still in my wet clothes.

"There's this girl, called Bella." Her name stung my throat. Suddenly the whole thing seemed childish. Running away to my mother when things went wrong.

"Yes?" She hadn't seemed surprised at hearing me talk about meeting a girl. Obviously she had been keeping in regular contact with Liz.

"I… we…. We were friends." I mumbled. The words seemed to be coming out tangled. I wondered if my mother could understand me at all. I certainly couldn't understand myself. "We were close friends. Really close friends. And then…" I stopped.

"What, what happened?" she urged.

"We kissed."

I heard my mom let out a small squeal inspite of herself. At seeing my face, and understanding that this was not a good thing, she fell silent.

"And then I told her I just wanted to be friends."

I watched her face fall. "Why?"

"Because I was afraid she would turn out to be like Tanya." I whispered. It was easy enough to admit it now it had actually come to pass. Not such a silly fear after all.

"Things went back to normal for about a fortnight, and then I was about to tell her… tell her how I felt… when I found it." I swallowed hard. "I found a pregnancy test in her bathroom."

I heard mom's gasp before she covered her mouth. "Oh, Edward, honey, I'm so sorry." She enveloped me in another hug, but I pulled away gently. "Mom, if you don't mind, I'd really like to be alone." Talking about it hadn't helped, that much I knew.

To my surprise, she got up, and with one last hug, was gone. I let myself fall backwards until my head came in contact with the pillow once more.

As my tiredness faded, I felt the burning in my chest that was present in my dream increase. The pain was hitting me full force now and I felt like I would die from it. My throat burned while my eyes watered. I wrapped an arm around my waist; I felt like a part of me was going to spill out if I didn't.

It was this agony inside that was about to explode, but had nowhere to go. Instead it pushed against my bones, the inside of my stomach, it ripped through my very core. Why couldn't it get out? Why was it trapped? I closed my eyes, finally letting tears escape. Why did this hurt so much? Why wouldn't it stop?

I had never felt anything like it. I could barely breathe, and any breaths that I did manage came in rasps. I clutched at the air, trying to keep myself alive, even though somewhere, in the back of my mind, I wished I could let go altogether.

Please please don't kill me. Remember, things will work out in the end, I swear. What you've been waiting for is coming up very very soon.

Secondly, on a completely unrelated note, I have a favour to ask. I'm Irish, not American, and while I try my best to get American slang/spelling/names for things right, I'm sure I get it wrong sometimes (alright, a lot of the time). So if you see something like "lift" go ahead and tell me it should be "elevator" and things like that!

Thirdly, review? I'm not sure about this chapter, I don't know if I was able to get the angst right...