A/N: Welcome back, everyone! Or I guess, welcome back to me. Lol. I just flew in last night. I had a blast! Thanks so much for all your well wishes.

I feel like I should remind you - the last several chapters have been about the same weekend. The date was yesterday, and the argument with his brothers/grandfather as well as this chapter all occur on the same day.

Edward woke confused and disoriented. There was something strange about the light in the room - abnormal. And though he'd never found waking up to be a pleasant experience, the ache in his chest, the smothering weight around his lungs that made it difficult to breathe, lent a sort of agony to consciousness. His head pounded with every beat of his heart, and for some reason, he reached out, as if he was expecting to find something to grasp beside him.

Not something, he realized. Someone.

Bella had been beside him, holding him, kissing him so tenderly.

He'd been so angry. It was a rage so terrible, it threatened to tear him to pieces from the inside out. Right on the heels of that tremendous anger was a sadness so profound it left him breathless. Between the two, it was no wonder why his chest, his heart, felt so completely obliterated. It was amazing he hadn't combusted or collapsed in on himself; he'd felt so physically close to both possibilities.

But then she'd been there, and when his arms were wrapped around her, he could feel the confines of his skin again. If not quite whole and complete, he felt like he could at least continue to breathe without either exploding or imploding.

She wasn't anywhere to be seen now. He glanced at the clock, groaning when he saw it was just after noon.

This day had already been so insanely long.

Edward threw his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up. He bowed his head, rubbing his sore eyes as he tried to get his bearings. What he really wanted was to coax Bella back to his bed, wrap her in his arms and fall asleep to her soft kisses again.

"Hey, you're awake."

Looking to the doorway, Edward was almost surprised to find Bella peering in as if she'd heard his wishful thinking. His lips quirked up the barest fraction of an inch. "Hey," he greeted, his voice raspy.

She placed a bottle of water on the nightstand before popping into his bathroom. She came out again quickly, sitting beside him and putting two Advil in the palm of his hand.

The cold, desolate space at the center of his chest warmed a few degrees. "Thank you," he said sincerely, tossing the pills back and swallowing them dry.

Bella shuddered. "That gives me the heebie jeebies," she muttered, leaning over him to grab the water bottle from the nightstand. She handed it to him.

Edward chuckled lightly. "The heebie jeebies, hmm?"

"Every time I've tried that, the pills get stuck in my throat. Ugh."

He just winked at her before he raised the bottle to his lips, taking a long drink. He downed the whole bottle without stopping to breathe.

"Well, since you're awake, I was wondering if it's okay for me to borrow your car," Bella asked when he'd had time to catch his breath again.

Edward tilted his head toward her, raising an eyebrow. "My car?" he echoed dumbly.

"I need to pick up a few things from the store," she said.

Oddly enough, her expression seemed distinctly furtive. He got the distinct impression she was nervous about something.

"If you need something from the store, I can drive you," he offered, feeling out of sorts. He was missing something; he was sure of it.

"No, no," she protested. "You look really tired, Edward. You should nap if you can."

"Nap," he repeated with a laugh. "I don't remember the last time I took a nap during the day," he said wryly.

"Well, today has exhausted me, and they aren't my brothers, my grandfather," she said tightly. The lines of her mouth and around her eyes were hard with anger. "So I can only imagine how you feel."

Hesitating only a moment before he acted, Edward took her hand, giving a light tug. "Then lay down with me again," he entreated.

He saw in her eyes that she wanted to. There was a moment of pure want, but it was tainted by something else.

Guilt?

"I..." She blew out a breath. "That sounds really nice, but I really do have to pick up a few things."

The furtive nervousness was back.

Edward studied her carefully. "What's going on, Bella?"

She bit her lip, looking uncertain. "I called your mother," she blurted finally.

"You what?"

"I told your parents to come over for dinner," she continued, her words faster than normal. "I'm sorry. I know I should have asked you first, but-"

He leaned in, silencing her with a kiss, smirking slightly at the little yelp she gave that was squelched against his lips.

It was amazing how difficult it was to stop kissing her. It was hard to believe their first kiss - their first real kiss - had been less than 12 hours before.

When he raised his head again, he had to laugh at her wide eyed, flush cheeked expression. She blinked sporadically, and he brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek, realizing with no great amount of surprise that he adored her. The simple sight of her shocked face soothed the ache around his heart, tempering the bitter taste in his mouth with sugar-sweetness.

"Don't apologize," he murmured, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand.

"You don't mind?" she asked softly. "I really should have asked you first."

"I appreciate that you're trying to take care of me," he said thoughtfully. "As for inviting them over..." He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I don't know. Sometimes, as you've unfortunately seen, I have a problem with my temper. I've fought with my grandfather and my brothers today. A fight with my parents would round out the day nicely."

"Temper," Bella repeated, the word coming out a little heated. "Only you would call that losing your temper."

He arched an eyebrow. "I broke an antique hall tree," he pointed out. "You can't tell me that was entirely necessary."

"Well," she hedged, squinting her eyes at him. "It wasn't one of your brothers' faces. Other people wouldn't have reacted so cooly."

"Have you seen my brothers?" he asked with a laugh. "That wouldn't have ended so well for me."

"I wouldn't count you out. You've got some killer a- errr."

To his astonishment and delight, she turned a bright, tomato red. "Some killer what?" he prompted, amused.

She ducked her head and rolled her eyes. "Ugh. God. Okay. I mean, you wander around without a shirt on, okay?"

"Meaning?"

Looking up, she pursed her lips as if she was trying not to smile. "You've got nice arm and back muscles, Edward. I bet you could beat them up. Even Emmett because I think you have strength and cunning going for you."

"Oh, my," he muttered, laughing at her assessment. "You've been checking me out," he accused. He couldn't help but tease her. It felt good that he could tease her.

She shoved him playfully, looking away from him and holding her other hand to her flushed cheek. "Again. You're the one who wanders around without a shirt on. I have eyes. I'm not going to apologize for that."

"I see. You'll apologize for tattling on my brothers but not ogling me, hmm?"

"That's not... I... You..." she stumbled. Her eyes narrowed when he burst out laughing again. "You suck."

The laugh he felt building in his chest was quickly overshadowing the ache. She made him giddy. It was an odd feeling, not being so poised and polished as he was used to. Odd, but not unwelcome.

In fact, he was revelling in it.

With two fingers beneath her chin, he tilted her head up so he could kiss her again, glad when she let him - even though he sucked. She rested her hands flat on his chest, and he stroked her back with his free hand.

He was hungry, he realized. It was a form of hunger he wasn't at all familiar with, and he was surprised at its intensity.

Ravenous. He'd never been so utterly ravenous for another person.

For the first time, their kisses deepened from small, sweet explorations - testing new ground - to something more serious, more heated. He found his hand pressing against the small of her back, pulling her closer.

He broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers as he caught his breath. He was confused but not unpleasantly so. He was not used to feeling so out of his depth, and maybe that should have made him uncomfortable, but it didn't. How could it, when he could feel her there in his arms?

"Is it always like this?" he whispered out loud, hardly even aware he'd spoken until she answered.

"For me?" she asked, sounding as though she understood the seemingly senseless question. "No, never. Never before this."

Somehow, the answer made his heart feel full, gave him a satisfaction deeper than even his best accomplishment had provided.

He took a deep breath, reluctantly letting her go, scooting back slightly.

They were going to have to talk about whatever was happening between them. Soon.

But there were other matters to attend to, and the longer he could keep kissing her without inviting any further complication, the better. Perhaps it was a selfish thought, but she was a great comfort to him right then.

He stood, pulling her up with him. "Come on. Let's go get those groceries."

~0~

Bella bit the inside of her cheek, feeling extremely guilty. She thought it might help - Edward having his parents to lean on for once - but for reasons she wasn't at all sure she understood, he was more riled up than ever. He was being rather snippy at them.

After that afternoon - he'd been so surprisingly playful - she'd hoped that his anger and sadness had abated somewhat. His irritation was back now with a vengeance.

Perhaps even more surprising was Carlisle's reaction to the whole situation. He was livid - his anger playing off his son's. Between them, storm clouds were brewing. Edward didn't seem to appreciate his father's anger on his behalf. Carlisle either didn't notice this or was simply too angry at Edward the First to care.

Something was bound to give.

Edward slammed his hand down hard on the table, glaring at his father with an expression that was all bitter resentment. "If you wanted to protect me from him, that was something you should have thought of 32 years ago," he shouted.

Bella sucked in a sharp breath and Esme a strangled a little cry at the back of her throat. Carlisle blinked, his expression stunned and hurt.

Both of his elbows on the table, Edward put his head in his hands. "Oh, God. Dad. I didn't mean that. I-"

"No. You did," Carlisle said softly, his tone gentle again. He smiled sadly. "I think I've been waiting for you to say that for at least the last fifteen years."

Edward raised his head, his eyes heavy with guilt.

"It's fine, Edward," Carlisle assured. He blew out a careful breath. "I wasn't trying to protect you. How can I? Done is done." His eyes flashed with livid fury for a moment before he tempered it. "I was just... pissed off."

Carlisle's hands flexed into fists on the tabletop. Her eyes full of sympathy, Esme put her hand over his tense knuckles. He looked up, smiling a small smile as he flipped his hand over, twining their fingers together.

"I'm sorry, Edward. Truly. Even all these years later... 32 years later," he said wryly, "I still remember how it felt being disowned by the man who raised me."

"Disowned?" Edward echoed. "He didn't..."

But he trailed off, realizing those words fit. He stared down at his hands, looking lost for a long moment. Aching for him, Bella put her hand on his knee, squeezing.

"I hate that he did this to you," Carlisle continued.

"It's not the same," Edward returned, looking up. "It's not the same at all."

"It's a father abandoning his son - except you're my son." Carlisle shook his head. "And I hate him all over again. Worse now."

"It's not the same," Edward repeated. He paused and then laughed, the sound containing not a single shred of humor. It hurt to hear it. "Disowned," he muttered. "I've been disowned and left to my own devices with a multimillion dollar mansion. Poor little rich boy," he mumbled his brother's insult from earlier that day.

Bella stroked his knee comfortingly, but as she repeated his words in her head, a thought struck her. "A mansion you hate," she said out loud.

"What?"

She held up a finger, trying to reason through what had occurred to her.

As Bella now understood the situation, this whole thing had come about when Emmett was looking for a place to live after he graduated from the University of Chicago. At the time, they - Emmett and Edward - had had a long discussion about all things adulthood. Amidst all the talk about credit scores, jobs, and home-owning, Emmett had laughed that it must have been nice.

When Edward graduated from high school, he received a car. When he graduated with his bachelors degree, he'd received his inheritance. When he graduated with his masters, his multimillion dollar mansion had been his gift.

"See," Emmett had said, "most people think all they need is a rich grandpa. Turns out, you gotta be Edward for that to work out."

So Edward had laid out a proposal to both his brothers two years before. He would co-sign on condos for them and pay the mortgages that neither of them - at 20 and 22 - could hope to afford just yet.

Both boys had been incredulous, neither used to receiving such extravagant gifts.

Jasper hadn't been at all sure about letting someone else pay for his home - he was proud to be working toward paying his own way through college as it was. But neither could deny it was a great opportunity. It would help them build their credit and give them some freedom, not having to worry about rent, landlords, and roommates.

Edward had promised his generosity came without conditions. They were his brothers, and he was trying right a great wrong in their world, that his grandfather had disinherited them right along with Carlisle.

More than anything, Edward hated going back on his word.

"You hate this mansion," Bella repeated slowly. "You told your brothers that today."

Edward glanced around, his expression almost nervous. "It was never my choice," he hedged.

"And part of your issue was that you wanted to share your inheritance." She looked up, holding his eyes. "So why not sell the house?"

All three of them gaped at her as if she'd grown a second head. Bella ducked down in her seat, ready to excuse away her idea as a foolish impulse when Edward's expression brightened.

"Sell the house... and split the profit."

"It would be more than enough for all of you to get something new," Esme joined in excitedly. "And then some."

"And we would all be on equal ground." Edward shrugged, rolling his eyes slightly. "Well, relatively."

"Are you really thinking about this, Edward?" Carlisle asked, sounding stunned. "You would give away a significant portion of your worth? So to speak."

"Myworth?" Edward scoffed. "As Grandfather is so fond of pointing out, he bought this house, not me."

"From your cousin, mind you," Carlisle inserted. "And it's your house, your birthright."

"It's your birthright, rightfully," Edward argued. He shook his head. "No. Bella's right. I do hate this house. I always have. It's horrendously big and empty."

"Is it really so empty now?" Esme asked, her eyes on Bella. "You do have a family of your own to provide for."

Bella ducked her head as Edward's expression gentled. He glanced at her, taking her hand, his eyes reflecting a soft emotion. "Even split four ways, there will be more than enough money to provide for all of us."

"Four ways?" Carlisle echoed.

Edward looked at his father. "Technically, it should all be yours."

Carlisle and Esme both shook their heads in unison. "We're fine," Esme said.

"We're more than comfortable. Our concern is you and your brothers," Carlisle agreed. "Still, Edward. There are other ways. I think Rosalie and Emmett would be able to afford the payment on their own if they juggle a few things. We," he nodded at Esme as he spoke, "can help Jasper until he figures out what to do. Worst case scenario, they could sell their condos."

Edward shook his head vehemently. "That's not what I want." He ran a restless hand through his hair. "They were real assholes about it this morning, but they were right about one thing: I'm the one that made this commitment to pay for their homes. You remember how wary they were about the whole ordeal a couple of years ago?"

"Naturally," Esme said. "Jasper wasn't even out of college yet. His job barely made his tuition payment, and Emmett was just starting out at the bottom of the ladder." She shook her head. "It was a risk to let you co-sign for them on homes they couldn't afford, and this is exactly why. No one knows what life will bring."

"Life is a risk," Carlisle pointed out. "It's no one's fault."

"No. It's no one's fault," Edward agreed. " It is my responsibility though. I talked them into it. I wanted to do that for them - I still do. And I still have the means to help them.

"Besides, this is exactly what I want. I meant what I said to Grandfather today. I'm done." Edward's lips were set in a hard, thin line. "I want as little to do with him and what he's given me as possible. He wants to disown me, that's fine. I'll disown him right back."

A/N: Weeee. Thanks to GinnyW and barburella

Okay. A couple of notes. First, to my TiAD and Notes readers, I am working on it. As I said, I over extended myself in work and fic life, and the only reason MBM is updating is because I have (had) a good backlog. Le sigh.

Also, I signed up for Project Team Beta's Smut University. I'll be giving a live interview on June 30th. It's a fun time all around and some great authors are participating. Sign up here: projectteambeta . com / smut-university /