Chapter 11: Tumbling Down

BPOV

"Oh Bella, shouldn't you fix your hair?" My mom asked; I internally groaned.

I had been spending the last two days at my parent's house, and I enjoyed myself when my mom wasn't bugging me about shit like my appearance.

My hair was up in a messy bun. I was wearing sweat pants, a t-shirt, and Edward's hoodie.

I was about to leave her house, so I didn't know why what I was wearing or what my hair looked like meant so much to her.

"Uh…no. I will be in my car the whole time. There's no one to impress." Not that it would have mattered. I was done trying to impress everyone. I wasn't even going to dress differently to impress Edward. He made it clear that appearances meant very little to him.

Man did I miss him.

I was gathering all my stuff. It was Halloween today and I wanted to get home so I could spend it with Edward and Alice. It had been a couple weeks since I actually met her, and Edward and I had been hanging out a lot more lately. He literally was my best friend. The only thing about our relationship was that I wanted more.

Holy fuck, did I want more. Sometimes I wondered if I actually loved him.

"Well that's your decision I guess." She said like she was ashamed.

I didn't really care.

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

"He is just getting out of the shower."

"Alright, I'll wait until he gets out so I can say bye." I said.

I went over to the living room and sat down on the white leather couch. The house was immaculate and so different from my home with the girls. I can't believe I grew up in this home. There were no signs of a family in here. There were pictures of me growing up on the wall, but everything was just so proper. I didn't know. It didn't look like it was lived in. It was so different from Edward's living room with toys all over, colored pictures on the wall, and lively pictures of Alice all over the place.

My mom sat down beside me and smoothed out her skirt.

"Where did you get that sweater anyway?" She asked, looking at it like it was infested or something.

I smiled. "A friend lent it to me."

"How big is your friend?" She asked sounding disgusted, just because it was a little big on me.

I knew she thought it was a girl who may have been overweight. I was glad I didn't get that gene from her. You know, the one that causes her to judge every person she walks by. I was glad I didn't judge people by appearances. Well, I didn't anymore.

"It's a guy, and he is just tall and obviously has a bigger frame than me."

"A guy?"

"Yes, a male lent me this hoodie."

"Is he your boyfriend? Why didn't you tell me about him, Bella!"

"He's not my boyfriend. He is my friend, didn't I just say that?"

"Is he cute?" She asked.

She was all into this. I laughed. She got so excited over the littlest things. I didn't mind when she got excited though.

"Yes, but he is just a friend."

"How old is he?"

"Twenty-three." I wasn't going to tell her details on Edward, but I didn't see no harm and telling her a little bit about him. She lives far away, so she couldn't harass him all the time like the girls would. I still have to think of when I am going to tell them.

"Isn't that a little old?"

"Are you kidding, Mom? He is four years older than me. It's not really that big of a deal. Plus he is only my friend."

"What is his name?"

"Edward."

"Oh!" I laughed at her excitement. I liked her like this. I liked when she would just let go and show her true emotions about something. She wasn't being fake right now like she sometimes was. She was happy to hear of my new 'friend' and I knew her well enough to know she wanted us to be more, just because she didn't think I should be single. "That sounds so sophisticated."

I snorted. Edward? Sophisticated? Nah…

"I guess it does sound that way." I could see a window was opened for more questions on Edward, but I didn't want to answer them. Thankfully my dad saved the day when he came jogging down the steps. His hair was still wet, and he was dressed in a white button up tucked into his jeans.

"You leaving already, Bells?" He asked.

I got up from the couch. "Yeah, I should be heading back now." He opened his arms for a hug, and I had no problem giving him one. He wrapped his arms around me and placed kisses on my head. I love my dad.

"You be good." He said.

I laughed. "Oh yeah, Dad, because I am so bad."

He chuckled. "You never know." I rolled my eyes and turned to my mom. She was already crying. I sighed and gave her a hug.

"I'm going to miss you so much, sweetie."

She made it seem like I would be gone forever. "I'll miss you too, Mom."

"You will call right?"

"Of course." I went to pull away, but she pulled me back.

"Renee, let the girl go." My dad said from behind me. Have I mentioned how much I love my dad?

"I love you, Mom. I'll call. I promise."

"Okay. I love you too, honey." She let go of me, and I went to grab my bag.

They both followed me to the door and gave me another hug. I loved them, but damn. Can't a girl leave without being smothered? I put my bag in the back seat and got in the driver's side. I took my phone out and decided to text Edward to let him know I was leaving. I went to Asshole in my contacts and sent the message.

Was just released from the clutches of overbearing parents. Cue the hallelujah music. B

I waited for him to text back so I didn't text and drive. I can't do two things at once. I already knew that about myself. My phone beeped.

See? I told you you would survive. You should listen to me more often. E

I smiled and rolled my eyes. I missed him like crazy.

Yeah, shut up Mr. Know-It-All. I'll be back in a couple hours. I can't wait to see you.B

I typed out. I contemplated on whether I should take out the last part. I didn't know how Edward felt of me talking like that. I really couldn't wait to see him though, so why lie? I decided to go with the 'no regrets' motto and sent it.

He didn't answer back right away, so I just drove off. I was freaking out as I drove. What if that last part was too much? No, I mean friends say that to each other right? I miss Angela and Tanya too and they are my friends. I miss Edward more, but that is beside the point.

Is it weird that I think of us as a couple in the near future? I could kiss him, he could kiss me. We could do other things that are a little racier than kissing if you catch my drift. We could get married have little kids that look like him and act like him. Do I really want kids like Edward though? Always teasing and making fun of me? No, I think one Edward is more than enough. But wouldn't a little boy with bronze hair and green eyes be so freaking adorable?

My phone beeped. Thank God. I was getting way ahead of myself there. I didn't even know if I loved him yet. Did I? I think so. Probably. I was sure I would know if it happened for sure. I wanted to get my phone, but I really couldn't do anything and drive. I was not that talented at all.

I had to ignore the phone for a little while. But then I hit some traffic. Oh joy. I just loved traffic so much. It made me so fucking happy. I groaned as it wasn't moving at all. I decided I could take my phone out. I checked the message.

Same here. E

Oh how he could affect me with just two words. I wasn't as nervous as I was before. He didn't seem to mind that I couldn't wait to see him. Actually, he couldn't wait to see me either. If I wasn't sitting in the car, I would probably be doing a corny happy dance right now. I really think I'm in love with him. There was no other explanation I could think of that I could use to describe the feelings I had for him.

I hated being away from him. I got goosebumps when he was around. I always wanted to smile when I was with him. I missed him after four days without seeing him. I felt safe in his arms. I loved holding his hand. He made me laugh every time I was with him. And I wanted to kiss him, like all the time. That must mean I love him right?

The traffic wasn't moving. It better get going because I needed to see Edward.

He wanted to see me too.

Oh my God. I hate traffic.

I was finally out of it, and was close to Edward's house so I called him.

"Hello?" He sounded tired and slightly aggravated.

"Hey, are you okay?"

He sighed. "Yeah, Alice is in one of those moods today."

"And what would one of those moods be?"

"Oh you know, the I-hate-my-brother-and-I-am-not-going-to-listen-to-a-word-he-says-just-to-see-him-get-mad moods."

I chuckled at his choice of words. "Well I am sorry to hear that. Maybe she is just impatient to go trick-or-treating."

"I don't think so…" He said. There was no humor in his voice. It was a strange thing to hear. Edward was usually always cracking jokes about things. Especially about Alice. He was always in a light mood talking about her.

"You sure you are alright?"

"Yeah."

"Well I will be there in a little bit."

"Great. See you then."

"Bye, dude."

"Bye, chick." He didn't sound himself.

It was kind of making me feel uneasy. It must have been something that was really bothering him to get him in that kind of mood. He seemed fine earlier, but then again, I didn't speak to him.

Well, that conversation only got me to want to get to his place even more now and I pressed a little harder on the gas. I wasn't speeding by that much but I got to his house in just a couple minutes.

I got a weird look from Edward's neighbor. He was on his porch smoking God-knows-what. I didn't really like the way he was looking at me though. It made me thoroughly uncomfortable but I just shook it off. I had other things to worry about, like my friend that I cared a lot about, being in a weird mood.

I jogged up the steps to his apartment, and he was already at the door with his finger to his lips, telling me to keep quiet. I stopped jogging immediately and tip-toed up the rest of the steps. He seemed to relax at my change of movements and he quickly walked into the apartment. I wanted to pull him back. I didn't get a good enough look at his face. I missed that face. I followed him in the apartment, and he was in the living room. I watched on as he put a pink throw blanket over a sleeping little girl.

She looked so peaceful and innocent. Her hands were below her cheek and her little lips were pursed. She had Edward's beanie on her head, and a bright blue dress on with some weird pig slippers. She looked charming and adorable even in sleep.

Edward gently slid the beanie off of her head and smoothed her hair down. His face looked strained, but the love in his eyes was impossible to not notice.

He turned back to me and went past me and into the kitchen. I followed after him, and he was standing over the sink with his arms braced on the counter. His shoulders looked so broad and I could see the outlines of the muscles in his arms. He was so attractive. It drove me absolutely crazy.

I walked up to him and placed a hand on his back. His muscles relaxed a little at my touch, and I rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He turned toward me, and looking into his green eyes, I could realize just how much he was lying on the phone. He was not alright. Something was causing that sad and confused look in his eyes.

"Wait. First, how was your trip?" He said. His voice sounded so much better when I was in the same room.

"It was okay. It was nice seeing my parents, but you know, I am not a fan of their overbearingness."

He nodded his head in understanding. "I'm glad you're back."

"So am I, now tell me what's wrong. You look very calculating and confused about something."

"It's just Alice. I worry about her too much I guess."

"What happened?"

"Nothing specifically." He said.

He knew that wasn't a good enough explanation. I was surprised when he grabbed my hand and led me over to the table. It was a short trip to the table, but I loved every second of it. He grabbed my hand! He was making progress. We both sat down and he didn't let go of my hand so I loosened my grip on his hand and held his hand in both of mine. I started tracing random patterns in his palm.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know."

"Do you not want to talk about it right now or something?"

"No, I will tell you now I guess." I nodded and continued playing with his hand. I was trying to act like it wasn't a big deal, but it was a huge deal to me. I loved that he would tell me anything.

"Okay."

He took a deep breath. "Alice has ADHD."

I wish I could say I was surprised, but I wasn't. Being in school to be a teacher, I knew the signs of a child with ADHD. Alice had a lot of them. She got in trouble at school, she was hyper a lot, and I noticed how she was always bouncing from one topic to the next when she spoke.

"I'm sure you would have already noticed." Edward said.

"Yeah, I did. There is nothing wrong with that, Edward. There are medications and all of that she can take."

"I know. She is on one. But lately, it seems it hasn't been working so well. I think maybe she grew out of her dose? I don't know."

"I guess it could be possible. Just bring her to see a doctor."

His eyes were on ours in front of us. "I know. The thing is though; I don't want to up her dose. I was already against it in the beginning, but they pretty much guilt-tripped me into it. It was horrible in the beginning though. She wasn't even herself for a long time because the meds would mellow her out to the point where I thought she was depressed or something. Is it really worth it to put her through that again?"

"How bad has she been?"

"Pretty bad, I guess. She won't listen to me. She has homework she has due tomorrow that she just won't do. I tried to make her, but she just cried the whole time. How could I just sit there and make her do it while she is crying like that? That is some fucked up shit."

"I know it is, but she would get over it."

"I don't care. I wouldn't get over it. I don't want to force her to do things she doesn't want to."

"But school is important."

He groaned. "I know that, Bella, but I don't know. I don't want her to hate me. It sucks because I know she can't really control it."

"That's true. I could try getting her to do it. I can help her if you wanted."

He looked up to me looking like a shy little boy. "Could you?"

"Of course."

"I'm just not cut out for this shit." He said and got up from the chair, taking his hand out of mine. He ran his hands through his hair.

"What do you mean?"

"This whole raising a kid thing. I always feel like I am doing it wrong."

"Hey, don't say that. You have been doing fine so far. She is a great girl."

"I know she is, so doesn't that mean she deserves more than a dude who pretty much plays it by ear every day?"

I walked up to him and ran my hands along his arms to calm him down a little. "First of all, you aren't some dude. You are her brother, and she loves you very much. And second of all, I am pretty sure most parents play it by ear most of the time."

He sighed. "I don't know. I just feel like I am doing it all wrong. Bev helps me out so much too, and it feels like she is the one doing everything that is important. Yeah I can play with her and teach her things, but….I don't know."

"I just think you are over thinking this. You are doing just fine. She adores you, she listens to you, and you both obviously have a close bond. Don't put yourself down like that."

"I guess if you say so."

I smiled at him. I walked closer to him. "I do say so and I am always right."

"Uh...I don't think those words came out of my mouth…just saying."

I laughed. "You know you were thinking it though."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself too much, woman."

I laughed and opened my arms for him. He walked closer and I wrapped my arms around his middle. "Come here. I missed you, you big lug."

He laughed and wrapped his strong arms around me. There was no place, in that moment, I wanted to be more than the one I was right now. It made me feel all kinds of comfortable and also very mushy inside.

"Did you just call me a lug? Why do I feel that is an insult?"

"It's open to interpretation."

"Well I think of it as a way of calling me dumb or something."

I shrugged, I was so comfortable, I thought I could fall asleep right there in his arms, it brought me that much contentment. "Oh well. Maybe I did mean it that way. You would never know."

"You're mean." He said and let go of me.

I reluctantly let go of him, not wanting to seem like a clingy 'friend,' but I could have easily held onto him for at least another hour. He smelled so good, and his chest felt so strong and…yeah. I could have held on a lot longer. Let's just leave it at that before I put my mind in a place it shouldn't be when I am with my 'friend.'

"So what are you being for Halloween?" I asked him as I sat down at the table.

"A fairy princess." He said with a straight face and even tone, so I obviously knew he was kidding (well I hope he was), but it was enough for me to get an image of Edward dressed as a fairy princess and I lost it.

I hadn't laughed that hard in four days, and I think it was because I wasn't with him. He made me laugh in ridiculous amounts, and made me all kinds of happy. Edward was laughing a little too, but he was putting his finger to his lips to tell me to keep it down. I tried. I really did.

"You…you are…s-so…weird."

"And you are my friend, so the joke's on you, chick." I dropped my head on the table and let out the rest of my laugh as quietly as I could so I wouldn't wake Alice. "I am being nothing for Halloween." He said in answer to my question.

I lifted my head to look at him. He was trying to smooth his hair down a little bit, but it wasn't working well, which was perfectly fine with me. I missed his face.

I realized I sounded crazy, but it wasn't something I could control. It was like my body and mind had to have him near for me to focus or feel absolutely content. It was a powerful feeling, and one I didn't want to go away.

"Me neither. What about Alice?"

He chuckled when I asked with a look of admiration on his face. "George Washington."

I chuckled as well. "Really?" He nodded his head. "That is pretty freaking cool if you ask me." It's not every day you see a six year old girl dress as George Washington for Halloween. I should have known a little girl as special as Alice wouldn't go with the normal route and be a princess or something…like her brother. Nerd.

"Yeah, I thought so. We were looking for some costumes online, and she hated all of the ones they had for girls, so we looked at the boy costumes, and that is the one she picked. She had a hard time choosing between that one, and the Grim Reaper."

I laughed. "She has some range, huh?"

He smiled. "Yeah, she does. And wait till you see her in it. It's the cutest thing."

I smiled and told him I couldn't wait. He seemed calmer now, and for that I was glad. I couldn't wait to spend the rest of the day with him and Alice.

Edward told me I could go with them trick-or-treating, and I could already tell it would be a lot of fun. Or so I thought.

Edward was right.

Alice in her George Washington costume was the cutest thing I have ever seen. She was wearing a button up white shirt with ruffles at the top with a tan vest over it. Edward was helping her put on her blue and gold jacket. She had on tan pants with boots up to her knee. The white wig she had on her head was really cool, and she had a nice colonial hat to put over it just to add that extra touch. It was so freaking cute.

"What do you think, Bella?" She asked. Edward was tying her boots tighter for her. The smile didn't leave from his face.

"I think that is the coolest costume I have ever seen."

"I know right? I love George Washington. Did you know he was our first president?" I nodded my head. "He was born February 22, 1732 in Virginia. He had a wife named Martha Danbridge…what was her last name, Ecy?" She asked looking down at Edward.

"Custis."

"Yes! That's it. Custis. He was president from 1789 to 1797 I think…right, Ecy?"

"Yes, that's right."

She looked back up at me. "There is a state named after him too! The only state named after an American!"

"Wow, you know a lot about him don't you?"

She nodded and Edward stood up. "Yeah, Ecy tells it to me. He teaches me a lot."

Edward went to get her hat and put it on her head. "What else does he teach you?"

"Everything in the whole world! My favorite is when he teaches me how to speak other languages. It's so fun!"

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Different languages? What other languages did he know? He never told me about this.

"You speak a different language?" I asked Edward.

"Sí señora." He said and gave me a smile.

Holy fucking shit. This was too much; Edward speaking to me in Spanish. Holy fucking hell, I didn't know if I wanted to hear more. I didn't want to have the complete urge to jump him with Alice in the room. There was just something so attractive about a man who speaks different languages, especially beautiful ones like Spanish.

"Just Spanish?"

Alice laughed. "No silly! He knows eight of them!"

Fuck. Maybe I should stop while I am ahead. I thought it was impossible for me to become more attracted to him than I already was, and then I learn this shit? It was pissing me off. I really hope there isn't any other thing about him that attracts me to him more. It wasn't fair. He was rendering me useless when it comes to controlling my hormones when he springs stuff like this on me. Damn, Edward.

"Eight?" I asked in astonishment.

"Yup! English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, Irish, and Italian." She answered. Wow. How could he even have time to learn all of those anyway? Eight languages? I only knew one, and a little of Spanish, but that was because I was forced to take it in high school. "He teaches me too! I know French the best. Want to hear?"

"Of course!"

"Je vais recevoir plein de bonbons ce soir et je ne vais pas laisser mon frère en avoir un seul parce que c'est un perdant." She said and Edward laughed. I was blown away. She was really good at it! Her accent seemed spot on to me, and she didn't even look like she was struggling to think of the pronunciation or anything. She was six!

"C'est ce que tu crois. Je suis plus vieux que toi donc respecte tes ainés et laisse moi avoir un bonbon." Oh my God, shut up Edward. I can't take it. Stop speaking French in that sexy voice of yours before I become a puddle of goo right in my spot. Really, why does he have to be so perfect and desirable? It was not fair at all. He made it increasingly difficult for me every day to remember that we were only friends.

"Huh?" I asked. They both laughed.

"I told him he couldn't have my candy, and he said too bad. But I was right."

"That is really cool! I wish I could speak a different language."

"Have Ecy teach you!"

I looked over to Edward.

"I could if you wanted." He said.

"Yeah, maybe you could." It sounded like a great idea; the only problem would be I would probably end up jumping him in the middle of a lesson.

"Alright, well let's go. I don't want to be out too late." Edward said.

Alice grabbed her bag candy and Edward reached for my hand. This seriously had to stop, or I will no longer be responsible for my actions. My body and mind are slowly, but surely beginning to work and function for Edward and because of Edward.

I grabbed his hand, and we headed out the door with Alice. We went into Edward's truck and we drove to an area where Edward wanted to take her trick-or-treating. He didn't feel his neighborhood was a really great place to take her. I agreed. We went to a place only ten minutes from his house, and there were already a lot of kids around. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. There were lines outside some of the houses.

Alice ran ahead of us.

"Alice! Stop!" Edward yelled. He sounded slightly panicked. I understood his feelings though. Halloween was great fun, but kids really needed to be supervised at all times. Alice turned back to us and ran to Edward's side. "Don't you dare do that again, Alice, or we are going home. I am not kidding around." He said.

"I'm sorry, I just want to go." She said.

Edward just sighed and we made our way to the first house. We made our rounds to the different homes. Alice was all kinds of excited at every house we went to. In some places we had to wait in line, but it wasn't that bad. Alice mostly just talked about whatever was going through her little mind and she kept Edward and I entertained. She wasn't acting up, thankfully. I think it was because of the excitement of getting candy. We weren't even halfway done, but she already had half of her bag full.

We were having fun, until things took a turn for the worse.

We were outside one of the houses waiting in line. I was holding onto Edward's arm and resting my head on his arm. Him and Alice were arguing about the candy and I just watched on with a smile.

"Hey, is that you? Alice Cullen?" A little boy asked from in front of Alice. He was with three other boys, and he was dressed as a cop.

"Yes it is. Hi, Justin." She said. It was someone from the school; I think I saw him a couple times.

"What are you supposed to be?" He asked rudely.

"George Washington!" She said proudly with a smile on her face.

All of the boys started laughing at her. "Are you kidding? He was a boy." Justin asked.

"So what?"

"You're a girl! Unless you want to be a boy…"

"No! I don't want to be a boy!"

"What a freak!" One of the boys said.

I looked over at Edward. He was fuming. I never saw him as upset as I did in that moment.

"You're a freak! Shut up you loser head!" Alice yelled at him. She was holding her own. Such a strong girl.

Edward I could tell wanted to say something, but what could he say to six year old boys?

Justin gasped. "Dad! Dad! This girl called me a name." He said. Then a man turned towards his son and looked at Alice and then to Edward who put his hand on her shoulder.

"Was it this girl?" He asked Justin and he nodded. "Excuse me." He said to Edward. "Do you mind controlling your daughter? She has no right calling my son any names."

"Fuck you." Edward said and I gasped. There were kids around… "Your son and his little friends were messing with her. Get your facts straight before you start making accusations."

The man seemed stunned at Edward's anger, but that only ignited his as well. "You want to rephrase that kid? How old are you anyway?"

"That's none of your fucking business." Edward was swearing way too much for where we were standing in the middle of all these kids.

"Edward, calm down." I said to him. I was getting nervous. I had never seen Edward like this. His whole body was stiff, and I wouldn't doubt if he would throw a punch at this guy. I looked down at Alice, and she looked just as nervous as I felt.

Edward looked over at me, and I could see the burning anger in his eyes. He looked back at the guy. "You should probably teach your kid some fucking manners. You know, treating other girls with respect and all that."

The guy took a step forward. He was pissed too. "Don't you dare tell me how to raise my kid."

"Don't give me a reason too. If you had your eye on him, you would have known that he was making fun of my sister because of the costume she was wearing, and she was merely defending herself when she called your son a name." Edward said through gritted teeth. He was fucking pissed the hell off, and I was in shock.

The man didn't seem to have a comeback, and he turned to his son. "Is he telling the truth?"

The kid knew he couldn't deny it, you could see it in his face. "Yes."

The kid's father sighed and looked back to Edward. "I'm sorry. I will talk to him."

"Yeah. Maybe you should think next time before you go accusing six year old girls on shit you don't know." Edward said through clenched teeth. He was making a scene.

"Edward, stop it." I said. His last comment wasn't necessary.

Edward did not acknowledge that I was speaking and he only kept his glare on the man. Thankfully, the man didn't say anything else, because it seemed Edward wasn't in the mood to end the little misunderstanding.

"Ecy." Alice said nervously, her voice cracking. She looked like she was about to cry. Edward looked down at her. "I think I am done trick-or-treating now."

"No, don't let this kid ruin your night, Alice." Edward said.

Thankfully the guy just ignored Edward. I didn't know what got into him. Yes, what that kid did was mean to Alice, but he didn't need to keep instigating a fight.

"No, it's not him. I am tired." She said.

They had a small stare down, until Edward finally gave in. It wouldn't be a big deal if we did leave. Alice did have a lot of candy. She probably had enough to last her a couple of weeks.

"Fine. Let's go." Edward said. He reached for Alice and she willingly let him lift her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and I grabbed her bag for her.

Edward walked ahead of me, and I could see Alice's little face over his shoulder. She had silent tears falling from her eyes and she looked absolutely terrified. I was confused by her reaction, and even more confused as to why my sweet, funny, Edward was now an angry, and irritable person.

When we reached the car, Alice climbed into the back and Edward and I got into our seats in the front.

"Can you believe that asshole?" Edward asked. He was still so angry. I was kind of worrying about letting him drive.

"Edward, you need to chill out. He apologized."

"I don't care! People are so fucking stupid it makes me sick to my stomach. His kid was a little punk, and then he just jumps to blame Alice? Fucking disgusting." He said. His voice laced with venom and hate. He pressed harder on the gas and the car moved faster forward.

"Edward! Slow down! You need to calm down, already. Jeez."

"Leave me alone, Bella." He said angrily. Oh fuck no. He wasn't going to take his anger out on me. I didn't do anything to him, so he had no right to flip out on me.

"You really need to calm down, Edward. You are completely over reacting right now."

"Shut up, Bella." I gasped. Where the hell was my Edward?

"Bella, just stop talking to him. Please." Alice asked from the back seat.

I looked back at her and she was pushing back small sobs and her body was shaking. She had her wig and hat off and she was using her sleeve to wipe her tears. The look of fear on her face made me realize that I was missing something. I didn't completely understand what was going on with Edward, and Alice did but I decided to listen.

I sat back on the seat and just waited until we got to Edward's house. I would gain nothing by trying to get him to calm down, that much I knew already because of the way Alice was telling me to let it go. I didn't understand why Edward was so mad, but I knew there had to be something else that I wasn't seeing. Maybe this was what Edward meant when he said there was something I didn't know about him. I suspected he had a temper when he admitted to his outbursts at the bars, but never to this degree. He didn't look like he was getting any less tense.

The rest of the ride to his house was practically silent. The only sounds were Alice's crying, and Edward's mumbling to himself. I could barely hear him. He was talking really fast, and I think it was in a different language to be honest.

When we were parked, Edward got out of the car and slammed the door. He stalked towards the door and didn't even bother waiting for neither Alice nor myself. Alice completely broke down in the back seat and I climbed back there to comfort her. I pulled her in my arms, and she clutched onto me for dear life.

"Alice, honey, what's wrong with him?" I asked.

"H-he…he gets really mad s-s-somt-times." She said in between sobs.

I still didn't fully understand what was going on, but I didn't want to interrogate Alice. I knew it was something terrible though, because Alice was falling apart. I heard a car behind us, and Alice looked as well.

"Bev!" She said and pulled herself out of me arms and out the door. I got out with her. "Bev!" She screamed again, and Beverly looked over to her with panicked eyes. She knelt down and caught Alice in her arms.

"Oh, Shortcake, what's the matter? Where is your brother?" She asked. Alice clung onto Bev tighter than she did me.

"Ecy…Ecy…he's mad, Bev. He is so mad!" She said.

A new kind of understanding came over Bev's face, and she went into what I could only interpret as protective mode. She got up from the ground and pulled Alice to her side. She looked up at me like she didn't notice me there before.

"Oh…Bella." She said.

"Yeah hi, Bev…umm…Edward…I don't know what's wrong. He only got in a fight with a guy, and then he wouldn't talk to us…and then he was flipping out." I was rambling.

Maybe it was my nerves, or the initial shock that was currently numbing me was wearing off. I really just wanted to get to Edward and see if he was alright. It wasn't like my Edward to storm off without Alice into the house in this neighborhood. The same man, only hours ago was emotional and distraught thinking he was doing wrong by her. He loved her so completely. But now he was too lost in this…anger. I don't know.

Bev walked over to me and put her hands on my shoulders to calm me. Alice was still crying and clinging to Bev's leg.

"Look at me, sweets." Bev said.

I looked up at her, at her caring face, and a tear fell. The shock really was wearing off and the panic was threatening to take over. I wouldn't be so emotional if I didn't suspect there was something seriously wrong with Edward with the way Bev and Alice were acting. It was scaring me to death.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked.

"Bella, you care for that boy don't you?"

"Of course." I love him…

"Well for him, I suggest that you leave, alright?"

"What? No way. I have to make sure he is alright…" She couldn't make me leave. At this point, I knew this was more than Edward being in a bad mood.

"Trust me. The only way you can help him right now, is if you just go home. I will call you later. Can you leave your number?"

"Bev, I can't just leave. There is obviously something going on here that you aren't telling me."

"Yes there is. But it is not for me to tell, so can you please respect that, and Edward's decision and just go. He will call you, alright?"

How could I argue with that? I wanted to. Man, did I want to, but I wasn't going to put Bev in a bad position. I trusted her, because I knew she would take care of him and Alice no matter what, but I wanted to do that. Maybe this wasn't even that big of a deal. Maybe I was expecting it to be worse than it actually was. Something told me I was wrong in thinking that, but I just told myself that for the time being. I needed that in my head if I was going to go away from him.

"Okay…fine. But please tell him to call me, and let him know I will be thinking of him alright?"

Bev pulled me forward and kissed my forehead. She patted my cheek, and wiped my tears away. "I am glad he has you, sweets. I will let him know."

"Thank you." I said. I looked down at Alice. "Goodbye, sweetie." I said softly.

"Bye, Bella. Thank you for coming with us." She said. I bent down and kissed her forehead.

I gave a look to the building that Edward was in, hoping he would come out of there completely normal and smiling and crack a corny joke or something. It didn't happen. I gave Bev a look, and then went to my car. When I turned it on, I looked back at the house, and saw Bev and Alice running into the house.

I didn't want to leave. I debated on just staying. I thought about it in my head. What if I went against Bev's wishes? That would be wrong. I couldn't do that to her. She said it was what Edward would have wanted. But what about what I wanted? Wasn't it a little unfair that I was left in the dark about all of this? There is something wrong with Edward. I didn't know what it was…but something wasn't right. Is this what he meant? What was it anyway?

I was about to just gather all of my sense, and drive off when I heard the most heartbreaking and scary sound I have ever heard in my life. The sound reverberated within my ears and sent chills through my body. I suddenly felt nauseas, and my heart was beating on my chest in the most painful of ways. That sound…holy fuck that sound.

Edward's scream.

All sense went out the window. I couldn't sit in this car, or drive off after I heard that sound. It was impossible. I didn't mean to go against Bev's wishes, but I was out of the car and running into the house before I could even comprehend that my legs were moving or that tears were streaming down my face, and I could barely see where I was going.

I ran up the steps, and ran to his door. There was banging, and sounds of him yelling. Bev was outside his door holding the knob.

"Bev!" I said.

She looked over to me with panic in her eyes. "Bella, please leave honey. I have everything under control here." She didn't sound as confident as her words.

"No, Bev, I need to see him…please just let me go in there."

"That's not a good idea, dear. Please trust me on this."

"I have to. I can't leave right now." He screamed again and I clenched my hands at my side, trying to make the pain in my chest decrease. "Please." I begged.

"Bella, I can't let you do that." He screamed again and there was another bang.

"Bev please! I love him! I can't stand this…I need to go in there. Please…I love him so much." I was shaking.

Edward should have heard that first, but I couldn't help it. I needed to see him. There way I could have walked away. I think it would be completely impossible.

My words seemed to have hit Bev hard, and she looked shocked. She studied my face, and I was crawling out of my skin. "You really do, don't you?" I nodded my head and cleared my tears. "Okay." She said. "Okay…maybe this can be a lesson for that boy. He needs to get some help."

It's that bad? He needs help? What happened to him?

I wanted to ask her so many questions, but his presence behind the door was pulling me to him. I needed to see him, and make sure he was going to be okay.

"Thank you, Bev." I said. She nodded her head and moved out of the way of the door. I took a deep breath and turned the knob.

I gasped.

Oh my God.

No one's gonna love you more than I do
But someone
They should have warned you
When things start splitting at the seams and now
The whole thing's tumbling down
Things start splitting at the seams and now
If things start splitting at the seams and now,
It's tumbling down
Hard

No One's Gonna Love You, by Band of Horses

Hey...*nervous laugh* Don't hate me too much alright? I updated early, that counts for something right? I told you all I was easily persuaded to update early. The response last chapter made me very happy, so I had to send all that right back to you all and update sooner than Friday...I mean, I could do it again...I understand this is a pretty mean cliffy. I do it out of love!

My FFBFF Alexa is back and she pre-read this one for me! So thank you! (she was mad at me too btw) lol And also thanks to Ady for her French translations!

Next chapter you all will get some answers! Not all answers, but a good amount of them! Next chapter will be out no later than Friday!

Review please! I reply with teasers! And I get easily persuaded by them :]