So, Hi! Sorry if I didn't reply to your reviews last time around - this are a bit nuts here!

UnknownPOV

I had followed them from her house to the restaurant and watched as they both laughed and ate together. I then kept a close distance as they drove home, trying my hardest to catch anything I could. Ian was not going to like this, especially when I tell him that Edward kissed her. Once the boy drove away from Ian's house, I pulled out my cell and dialed his number.

"Ian, it's me."

"'Sup? Any news?"

"Yeah...you're not gonna like it," I said, hesitantly.

"Oh?" he replied anxiously.

"Nope. Looks like your boy Edward has a major crush on your sister."

"Oh really?"

I paused. "He...he kissed her."

I heard a glass bottle shatter in the background. "FUCK! Shit, Keith is not gonna like this. I'll call you back."

IanPOV

I snapped my phone shut, irate over the news that was just given to me. Keith was going to kill me, I knew it. My job was to keep men away from Bella. She belonged to him, after all. The only reason he kept me around anymore was to make sure she was alone. How was I going to tell him that someone else wants what was his?

I decided to wait a little while before telling Keith. He was coming in from Vegas tonight, so I hoped he would be in a good mood. When he returned, he had two new girls with him. Great. That meant two had to go. If we were going off of Keith's "master list," then Gracie and Neela were the next up. They were decent girls - did what you asked and didn't complain too much - so I was shocked to think that Keith would want to get rid of them.

"Ian," I heard Keith say from behind me.

"Hey. Where'd you find these?" I asked.

"Does it matter? Have you heard from your boy?" he asked before taking a drag on his cigarette.

Shit. "Yeah."

"And?"

I suppose it's now or never. "And there's a problem," I said as I ran my hand through my hair.

"What kind of problem?" he asked, as he started walking towards me. His face was was strained, waiting for me to answer.

"Seems she has a boyfriend."

"Do you know him?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah. We were friends as kids. His name's Edward."

"How much of a threat is he?"

"Well... I think he had a thing for her when we were younger. Apparently the two of them are together now that he's home from school. He took her out to dinner tonight, as well. Do you want me to take care of it?"

"We'll do it together," he replied with a sick grin. I instantly knew what he had in mind.

BellaPOV

Hawaii was perfect. Dad and I spent every minute together and I think it helped more than we first anticipated. Personally, I think we went at the perfect time, because the beaches weren't overly crowded like they would be during the summer months.

Two days ago, we were on a hiking tour when we stopped at a cliff with a waterfall. The instructor said we could jump off the waterfall if we wanted, but the memory of mom jumping to her death flooded our minds and we walked away, not wanting to face that fateful day and the scars that were still healing. While we waited for the others to finish and move on, Dad told me why he chose Hawaii of all places for us to go.

"I thought about Disneyland or something fun like that, but I knew your mom wanted to come here one day when you kids were older. She wanted to lie on the beach and explore the islands. She always said that when she thought of heaven on Earth, that this is what came to mind. Probably silly, but I thought if we actually came, she would be with us."

"Not silly, Dad. Really. She's probably happy that we came."

"I hope so."

"I know she's be proud of you, too."

"I don't know about that," Dad said, shaking his head.

"I think so. How many people could handle everything we've gone through?"

"I haven't been perfect, Bells. I rely on Carlisle and Esme far too much."

"So? Obviously if they had a problem with it, they would have said something."

"I still don't know how you managed to survive in that hell. I don't think I could have."

"It wasn't easy. There were days where I was in so much pain from the beatings that I wished someone would have just put me out of my misery. I did things no one should have had to do at such a young age, if ever. But, above everything, I thought that if I didn't fight, if I didn't do what they wanted, you and mom would have been disappointed," I said as I looked down at the ground. I picked up a stick and started drawing little figures in the dirt. "I would have this reoccurring dream that I died and you and mom were standing by my coffin. People were paying their condolences and you and mom were telling people not to feel sorry because I should have fought harder. I just didn't want to let you down," I said as my eyes filled with tears.

"I could never be disappointed in you. I could never have been as strong as you after what they did."

"Really?" I asked.

Dad stood from the large rock he was sitting on and walked until he stood in front of me, and took my face in his hands so that I was looking directly at him. "Really. None of that was your fault. None of it."

"Some days I think I'll never get over it, that I'll always be so dependent on others and be in constant fear. But, other days I just want to push it all aside and be normal."

"You'll get there. But just know that whatever you do, I'll always be proud of you."

Yesterday was the best day, I think. We started by sleeping in late then made our way down to the water to bathe in the sun. I was self-conscious about my body while in my bathing suit, so I wore one of dad's shirts over it. Late that afternoon, we went snorkeling. I never realized how fit my dad was until I saw him without a shirt on. He wasn't overly muscular, but he was defined. It was fun looking at all the different fish and sea life. Dad and I were both exhausted afterward and decided to just order room service before we both passed out watching movies.

Last night during dinner one of the hula dancers pulled me and a few other girls on stage and taught us how to dance. I didn't want to go up at first, but thankfully there weren't too many people watching. I felt completely out of my comfort zone, but it was kind of fun once I got the hang of it. Dad took a few pictures of me while I attempted to hula.

It was great being home. Tonight, I was looking forward to the New Years Eve party the Cullens were having. Rose and I had gone shopping for my dress since I didn't have anything that fancy to wear. Alice even came and wanted me to try on several short dresses that showed off a lot of skin. But, when I tried the first one on, I completely broke down.

"Bella, what's the matter?" Rosalie asked outside the door.

"I can't wear this!" I cried.

"Why not? It'll look good," Alice said from outside the dressing room.

"I can't."

"Can I see?" Rose asked.

I unlocked the door and immediately shut it after she was in. There was no way I was going to let Alice see.

"Oh honey, are you worried about these?" Rose asked.

My arms and legs had scars from my four years of hell. Some were cigarette burn marks, some were marks from when I was cut, and even some bruises that never healed properly. I was ashamed of them. "Yes. These dresses are going to show everything. People are going to stare at me. I can't wear them."

"No one's going to stare at you," Rose said.

"Yes they will! Look at me! I'm ugly! Covered in scars and bruises!"

"You're not ugly. You are a beautiful, strong woman. I don't know if I have the fight in me like you do. You have so much beauty in you, too. Don't ever doubt that."

"But what if I don't find a dress that covers all of them?"

"We'll find something, trust me. This is just the first store. Don't worry." Rose unzipped me, then grabbed all the dresses and walked out.

"She's not trying any of them on?" Alice asked, annoyed.

"Nope."

"How are we supposed to find something? Every dress in the store is short."

"Well, we'll have to go somewhere else, won't we? Now, quit being so mean."

"I'm not mean."

"Yes you are," Rose said.

After looking through another three stores, we found the perfect dress. It was navy with lace and was off the shoulder. The sleeves were three-quarter length and the skirt came just below my knee. After we got back to the Cullen's house, Rose, Alice and I went upstairs to get ready. After a few hours we could hear people arriving and music playing. Before going downstairs, Rose pulled me aside.

"You look amazing in that dress. I know for a fact Edward is looking forward to seeing you tonight. Don't think about your scars and bruises, okay? I covered them the best I could with some make up and I doubt anyone's going to notice them. Just have fun, okay?"

"Thanks, Rose."

At the bottom of the stairs were Jasper, Emmett and Edward, each in a tux. Alice, dressed in a short black dress, bounded down the stairs and into Jasper's arms. Rose, who was in a beautiful long red dress, walked down with me. As we reached the final stair, Rose squeezed my hand before going off with Emmett.

"Wow. You look so beautiful," Edward said.

"Thanks," I said. He was so handsome in his tux, his hair in disarray but perfect for him. Just the sight of him made my heart flutter and my body tingle.

Edward kept us at the edge of the party so that I could breathe. Crowds still bothered me and since we were in the confines of the Cullen home, the tightness of everyone was getting to me. Just before midnight, everyone went outside to wait for the fireworks, signaling the start of the New Year.

"Any resolutions?" Edward asked.

"I want to be happy and not worry about every little thing. And I'd like to graduate from school. You?"

"I'd like to spend more time with family and friends, but I know that will be difficult with med school."

"It's a big commitment. But I have no doubt you'll be a good doctor."

"I hope so."

"One minute!" someone shouted as Emmett raced over and handed us some noisemakers.

"Things will be better this year, Bella. I promise."

I stood there looking into his beautiful green eyes and secretly hoped our friendship would turn into something more, but knew I couldn't rush it.

"Five...four...three...two...one! Happy New Year!"

Fireworks started going off overhead and people were laughing and blowing their noisemakers. I was still starring into Edward's eyes.

"Happy New Year, Bella," Edward said. His lips were a fraction of an inch from mine.

"Happy New Year," I whispered.

He softly kissed me and again, everything around us disappeared...this was going to be a very good year.

A few hours later, I woke up with the worst stomach ache I'd ever had, and figured it must have been something I ate. Since Charlie was working overnight, I stayed in my room at the Cullen's. I grabbed the blanket off my bed and made my way to Edward's room. I lightly shook him as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"Bella? What's wrong?" he asked still half asleep.

"I don't feel good. Do you have any Pepto?"

"Um, let me check." He stretched and walked into his bathroom. I heard the medicine cabinet open, followed by the sound of the light turning off. "Sorry. Let me go check in another bathroom."

I lay on his bed and curled into a ball while I waited for him to return. As I waited, I replayed the night's events. Edward was so kind and patient with me, just like he had been the night of our date. Tonight he had introduced me to some of his friends, but mostly we hung out with Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice. There was still tension between Alice and I, although I couldn't figure out what I did to make her dislike me so much.

"Rose and I are going to the store to get some Pepto for you. Emmett is sick, too. Will you be okay?" Edward asked quietly.

"Yeah. Thank you."

"Sure." Edward pulled his covers over me and kissed my temple.

RosaliePOV

"Bella's sick too, huh?" I asked as Edward drove to the all-night pharmacy.

"Yep. How's Emmett?"

"He's the world's biggest baby when he's sick. I swear he turns into a two year old when he doesn't feel good. You'd think a man of his size could hold his own, but he begs me to be in the bathroom with him while he pukes."

"I didn't need to know that."

"Sorry. Bella looked good in her dress, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know she was nervous about wearing one?"

"No. Why?"

"She has scars and some bruises. She didn't want anyone to see them. Of course Alice had a fit when I told her we had to find a longer dress for her. I don't understand why she's acting this way, Edward. Bella and Alice used to be connected at the hip, and now Alice can't stand to be in the same room as her. I don't get it."

"I don't either. Maybe the two of them need to work it out for themselves," Edward said.

"Right. Like that'll happen. The only way the two of them would ever talk to each other is if we locked them in a room together, and even then I'm not sure anything would come of it."

We drove the rest of the way in silence. Thankfully the pharmacy wasn't that far away.

"Stay here. I'll go in and get some stuff. I'll be back in a few," I said getting out.

"Alright."

The store wasn't busy, but it did have a few customers. I quickly grabbed a few bottles of Pepto and Tums then walked over to find some ginger ale. Once those were in my basket, I decided to just have a quick look around to see if anything else jumped out. I ended up adding a box of saltines and a few magazines before heading to the check out. I was exhausted and really wanted to get home and back to bed.

When I walked out of the pharmacy, I noticed Edward's car door open and saw that something on the ground. I looked around to make sure no one was around, then ran over to the car. As I got closer to the car, I was horrified by what I saw. On the ground a few feet from the Volvo was a body.

It was Edward.

... off to hiding I go!