Author's Note- Hello, everyone! First of all I'd like to thank you for all your reviews and favorites and alerts. I love hearing from you. This chapter's a bit of a long one, which is why it took so long! I've done up the outlines for the rest of the chapters, and I'm going to say there's about five left after this. I might combine or lengthen while I'm writing. And I should be able to write more after this week, because then my semester ends. So here's this chapter, and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer- I own nothing, it all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Soundtrack: "Falling for You" by Ronnie Day

Chapter 14

Thankful for You

Fortunately for Mike Newton, midterms came upon us and my friends all forgot about their plans for revenge. Alice had suddenly realized that all her online "Christmas" shopping was destroying her GPA, so she spent nearly all her free time with Jasper, who forced her to study. Rosalie, the perfectionist that she was, spent all her time studying even though she could have passed effortlessly. Even Emmett, so eager to see the demise of Mike, gave up when he realized that Alice and Rosalie weren't able to help. He went back to Guitar Hero, and took out his disappointment on his wireless guitar.

I was relieved, to be quite honest. Mike wasn't that bad of a guy. He didn't deserve the elaborate plans Alice had cooked up. He just made some bad choices. Besides, I figured Edward's treatment of him was punishment enough.

We had had Biology on Tuesday, and had been scheduled to do a lab. As we walked to class, I could tell that Edward was debating in his head how to handle it. He was angry; I could tell by the set of his jaw. Every now and then he would reach up and pinch the bridge of his nose with his free hand. He was trying to figure out how to tell Mike just how displeased he was, because he was definitely angry, but while causing the least pain to me. He was upset that he'd hurt me in the first place, but knew that I didn't want Mike hurt in turn.

As we walked, I had realized how protective Edward was of me. I'd once said the same thing about Alice, but this was a surprise to me. I wasn't used to being taken care of. My mother had loved me, but she knew I could take care of myself and had let it go. Charlie had tried, but after years of inexperience, his half-hearted attempts to be protective had fallen short. He needed to be taken care of just as much as he wanted to take care of me.

And then there was Jacob. Jacob preferred to live life without reservations, and brought me along for the ride. I wondered how Edward would react if I told him about half the things Jacob had convinced me to try: cliff diving, motorcycles…

I'd never had anybody worry about me, not only my physical well-being, but my happiness as well. As much as I knew I could take care of myself, it was nice, in a way, to know that Edward was right there to help if I needed it.

Mike wasn't there when we reached the classroom. I tried not to sigh in relief as I sat down next to Edward. He kept my hand the whole time.

I wondered briefly if Mike actually remembered what happened Saturday night. He'd been pretty drunk at the time, and frat boys at St. Michael's took it as a point of pride that they usually didn't actually remember their weekends.

The professor walked in a moment later and started write on the board. I concentrated on what the professor was writing to keep from looking at the doorway. Then I felt Edward tense beside me, and I knew Mike had walked in.

I squeezed Edward's hand briefly, and then turned to see Mike sauntering towards our table.

"Hey Alice," he said, putting his stuff down at his seat. I noticed him swallow, and his eyes flitted to our side for just a second. "Hey Bella, Edward."

He most definitely remembered.

"Mike," Alice said, her voice cold.

I didn't say anything. I looked away, focusing my eyes on Edward's shoulder instead, wishing I could just bury my face there. But Edward was tense, and I could tell this wasn't going to end well.

It was hard to concentrate through the whole class, knowing what was going to happen at the end. We somehow got through our lab. Alice refused to say more than ten words to Mike, and ended up doing the lab almost single handedly while Mike sulked at the desk. Edward kept shooting daggers at Mike with his eyes.

It was almost a relief to hear the professor tell us to clean up our things. I didn't think I could stand much more of the hostility in Biology. Mike started cleaning up his things faster than I'd ever seen him move.

"Wait just a moment, Mike," Edward said.

I froze, and looked up at Edward. Mike did the same.

"Bella told me what happened the other night, at the party," Edward said.

I thought I saw Mike's hand shake a little bit.

"I wanted to tell you that I don't care what you think of me. It doesn't matter to me if you don't think I'm good enough for Bella. As long as I'm what she wants, that's all that matters to me. But you will never touch her again," Edward said.

Mike nodded.

He turned his head in my direction, but I noticed that his eyes didn't move from the table.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said.

All I could manage was an, "Um… okay."

Edward slung my bag over his shoulder with his own, and then offered his hand. I took it, and we followed Alice out of the room.

Before I could say anything to either of them, I noticed a familiar figure leaning against the wall outside our room.

"Emmett!" I hissed, "I said no maiming!"

He stood up, grinning.

"Hey, guys," he said, "Where's Mike?"

I narrowed my eyes and hissed, "Edward already took care of it."

But Alice nudged Emmett, and nodded towards the doorway. Mike was following a few feet behind us. I shook my head as Emmett began to crack his knuckles, watching Mike's every movement. I watched him speed up and all but scurry around the corner.

"Was that necessary?" I asked.

Emmett nodded.

"He likes to show off, that's all," Edward whispered.

"What will Rose say?" I murmured.

Emmett laughed, and said, "Rosie knows all about it, Bells. She wanted to come but her class is on the other side of campus."

"And I told Jasper that Edward would handle it," Alice chimed in.

Well at least one of my friends actually listened to me. That was good to know.

I pulled my hand out of Edward's and marched towards the doorway, fully intending on leaving my friends behind until they'd matured to at least the level of a 16-year-old.

"Bella, wait!" Alice cried.

I ignored her, and pushed the door open. There was a blast of cold air, and I reached up to tighten my scarf… which was in my bag, which was on Edward's shoulder.

Great.

Ignoring the fact that it was cold, even for Washington, I set off towards the dining hall. I could hear my friends coming out of the building behind me.

"Bella, wait," Edward said, catching up to me before I'd gone more than a few steps.

He threw my scarf around the back of my neck, and took my hand.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Edward said, slowing me down with his hand, "I have a bit of a temper."

"A bit?" I asked.

"I got carried away," he continued.

"Why? I told you it was nothing," I said.

"I know. I was jealous," Edward replied.

I rolled my eyes, a habit I'd picked up from him.

"Of Mike Newton?" I said, with a laugh, "That's ridiculous. Edward, you're perfect. Mike's just… Mike."

"Perfect?" he repeated, and I could tell from his voice that he was smiling.

I nodded, and reached up with my free hand to pull my scarf a little tighter. I was trying to maintain my anger towards him, and I knew if I looked at him I'd forget all about it. Life was not fair.

"Bella, please," Edward murmured.

I looked up at him, and his green eyes caught mine. Damn. He was too beautiful, too perfect. His eyes were creased, worried. It was hard to stay angry with him, knowing he was this worried and this upset. I knew he'd only meant well, and that he would never hurt me.

"Ugh," I groaned, looking away, "You're such a cheater."

He laughed, and the sound made my heart jump. It was so unbelievably good to hear him laugh.

"Fine," I said, "But lay off Mike Newton from now on, please? I think he got the point."

Edward frowned, but I raised my eyebrows.

"Fine."

My stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl, and I sighed.

"Hungry?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Let's go to lunch, then," Edward offered.

This time, when he started to walk, I walked along side him, letting his hand hold mine tightly.

Four exams and one fifteen page paper later, I was headed home for Thanksgiving. It was about a four-hour drive to Forks, so I left early Wednesday morning. All my friends were going home for Thanksgiving. Alice had left the night before: she was going to Jasper's for Thanksgiving.

I'd wondered at her courage. I wasn't sure I was ready to meet Edward's parents yet, much less have him meet Charlie and Renee. They didn't even know I had a boyfriend, and I meant to keep it that way for a little longer. I hated lying to my parents, but Renee didn't approve of relationships before the age of thirty much less coming off a long-term relationship, and Charlie was my dad, and he'd loved Jacob.

So Edward and I had decided without actually talking about it to spend Thanksgiving apart. We'd spent nearly every moment, waking and sleeping, together in the days leading up to break, and driving along the main road in Forks I felt a whole in my heart, the empty space beside me where Edward should be.

Someone honked their horn at me as I drove down main street. I raised my hand to wave in their direction. Everyone knew it was me, I had driven the same red truck since I'd come to live with Charlie years ago. And they all knew Charlie. It was pretty hard not to. He was the police chief.

The cruiser wasn't in the driveway when I got home. I wasn't expecting Charlie to be home; he was usually at work all day. I let myself into the house, and dragged my bag upstairs to my bedroom. I went back downstairs, nearly tripping on my way. I caught myself on the railing, and then went into the kitchen.

Charlie'd left me a note on the counter.

"Bells, Be home after work. Call your mom. She called this morning and said your cell phone wasn't working. Love, Dad."

I bit my lip, and then picked the phone up to dial my mom's number. While I listened to the phone ring I opened the fridge. Of course, there was a bottle of ketchup and two plastic carry out trays from the diner.

I got Renee's voicemail, and left her a quick message explaining that I must have gone through a dead zone, but that I was safely in Forks and would call her in the morning. Then I sat down to make a grocery list.

Hours later I heard the front door open and shut, and the scrapping sound of Charlie hanging is gun up.

"Bella?" he called.

"In the kitchen, Dad!"

I heard his heavy footsteps plod through the house, into the kitchen, where I'd spent the majority of my day.

"Smells good, Bells," he said.

I glanced up from the mixing bowl, and smiled at my father. He looked the same, but a bit softer around the edges, like he'd eaten a few too many meals at the diner.

"Thanks," I said, "Pumpkin and apple pies. I thought you'd want plenty of leftovers."

He wrapped me in a one-arm hug and said, "I've missed you, Bells."

"I missed you, too, Dad," I replied.

"How's school?" he asked, sitting down in his usual chair with a glass of water.

"Fine," I replied, "How does chicken sound for dinner? I went and got groceries when I got back."

"Chicken's fine," he said, and then paused to clear his throat, "Have you… er… met any boys at school?"

Uh-oh.

I kept my face averted from Charlie, because he would be able to see in a second that I was uncomfortable.

"Umm… no. Why?" I asked.

He cleared his throat again and said, "No reason. Just wondering."

After that we fell back into the comfortable silent I remembered from High School. It was safer, and I preferred it over embarrassing questions.

I waited until Charlie went to sleep, well after the basketball game was over. Then I went up to my room to call Edward. I'd called him earlier that day to let him know I'd made it home safely – which he'd insisted upon. His mother was peppering him with questions about me, and wanted to know when she'd meet me.

"What, have you never brought a girl home before, Edward?" I teased.

I could almost hear his smile on the other end. "None like you, Miss Swan."

I laughed.

But he grew serious again and said, "I was too focused on school to bother telling my parents about girls."

I smiled, and said, "I think Charlie might be on to us, too."

Then I sighed, and said, "I miss you, Edward."

"I miss you, too."

"I'll call you tomorrow," I promised, and then we disconnected.

I held the phone in my hand for a minute, silent. Hearing his voice just made it worse. I was here in Forks, and he was in Seattle. This week was going to be long.

Then I dialed Alice. She would be awake: her high levels of energy rarely put in her bed before midnight.

"Bella!" she answered the phone, "What's up?"

"Alice, have you been talking to Charlie?" I hissed.

Charlie loved Alice, and whenever he'd called her once before, when I was really upset about Jacob, just to make sure I was okay.

"Nope," Alice replied, "Why?"

"He's been asking really pointed questions about me and boys all night," I told her.

"So you think he knows about you and Edward? Well, we did basically tell him we knew someone named Edward when he called that one time," Alice said, "But I swear I haven't talked to him since August, and I've never told him that you have a boyfriend. That's something you get to do, darling. And something you should do, soon."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Alice, you don't get it. I can't tell Charlie about Edward. Not yet."

"Because…"

"He freaked out when Jacob and I started dating, and he loves Jacob like a son. Which is part of the problem. I think he secretly wishes Jacob and I would get back together," I said.

Alice made a disgusted noise and said, "Bella, I'm sure he's past the whole Jacob thing. He's your father."

"Exactly. He's very protective of me," I said.

She laughed and said, "That part's true. But you should still tell him."

"Why?" I repeated.

There was a long pause, and then Alice said, "Bella, have you thought that maybe the reason you don't want to tell Charlie is because then you'll have to admit to yourself how serious you are about Edward?"

"What?" I hissed.

Instead of being sorry and recanting everything she'd just said, Alice just said, "Think about it, Bells. I'm off to go watch a movie with Jazz. Love you."

"Love you, too," I whispered, and hung up the phone.

Thanksgiving was just Charlie and me, as usual. I called Renee, but our conversation was cut short because her turkey was burning. She and Phil would probably be eating out yet again. I called Edward, but didn't have time to say anything more than "Happy Thanksgiving" and "I miss you" before the potatoes decided to boil over.

I made Charlie turn off the football game at two o'clock, and put Thanksgiving dinner on the table.

"There's going to be plenty of leftovers," I said after a few minutes of silent eating, "And I'm going to leave you some stuff that you can just heat up and eat. That way you won't have to go to the restaurant every night for dinner. It's not good for you."

Charlie just nodded, and then said, "So, Bella, I know you said there weren't any boys at school… but I want you to know that you can tell me, if, you know, there are."

"Dad, it's a co-ed school," I replied, evading the question.

"You know what I mean," he grumbled, taking a healthy bite of mashed potatoes.

I quickly put some turkey in my mouth, enough to hopefully delay an answer for a minute or two.

But Charlie continued anyway.

"I'm just trying to be a good father, Bells. Your mother…"

"Renee called you?" I asked, swallowing down the turkey.

"She said you'd been acting weird lately, and she wanted to know if I'd told you about any new boys at school," he said.

Yes, because girls my age regularly tell their fathers about their dates.

"Renee put you up to this?" I asked.

Charlie nodded, sheepishly.

I took a sip of my drink, shaking my head. I couldn't believe this. I'd forgotten how perceptive my mother was. Of course she would have noticed that I was a lot happier whenever I talked to her, and that I was evading certain questions. Of course she would be worried and call Charlie. And Charlie, trying to be the responsible father, would get worried too.

"It's okay, Dad," I assured him.

"So there is a boy?" he asked.

If you could call Edward a boy.

"Yes," I admitted, feeling my face turning red, "But it's okay."

"Bells… you're a big girl, I understand that. But I'm still your father, and I can still be worried about you. It's so soon after Jake…" Charlie started.

I turned my face away from the table, breaking our eye contact.

"It's okay," I promised, "I know what I'm doing."

Maybe saying it loud would make it true.

"Okay, Bella. I trust you," he said.

"Don't tell Renee," I begged, "She'll overreact."

"She'd want to know," Charlie replied.

I put down my fork and said, "Fine. Tell her. But you're going to tell her. I didn't ask for either of you to interfere."

Charlie smiled a little at the edges of his mouth, and I couldn't help but to respond in turn. We both knew what Renee's reaction was going to be like.

"What's his name?" Charlie asked.

I hesitated, then answered, "Edward Masen."

I wondered if Charlie recognized the name from the time Alice answered my phone on accident. But if he did he didn't say anything.

"Where's he from?" Charlie asked.

"Seattle. He's a music major but intends to go into law school when he graduates in the spring, and work in his father's law firm. Anything else you want to know?" I asked, speaking quickly to get it over with.

Charlie smiled again and said, "I guess not."

I smiled in response, and we went back to eating our dinner in silence.

Edward called me again that evening, while Charlie was watching the recap of the game I'd made him turn off during dinner. I dismissed myself to go upstairs, and tossed myself on the bed before calling him back.

"Hey," I said, "Sorry about that. I had to get out of the living room."

I heard him chuckle and then he said, "I understand. How was your dinner?"

I grimaced, and said, "You first."

"Fine. No one drew blood, so I think it was success. How was yours?" he pressed.

"Well, my parents sort of ganged up on me," I told him, "About you. So I told them about you. Charlie understands, he's fine with it. But I'm not so sure about Renee."

"Why wouldn't she be?" he asked.

"Renee's a bit… um… crazy about relationships. She married my dad too young, and had me just after they were married. She doesn't like being tied down," I said, smiling to myself as I thought of my crazy mother. "But she worries a lot, mostly about me. She doesn't want me to end up tied down too soon. She thought I would be with Jake, and now she's worried that I'm…"

I trailed, realizing this wasn't something I should tell Edward.

"Rebounding?" he asked.

I hesitated.

"Bella?" he asked.

"Sort of." I gave in.

"Are you afraid of that, too?" he asked.

I bit my lip, and whispered, "A little. I… I don't want you to be a rebound. Because that means that eventually I'll lose you."

I could imagine what he looked like.

"Don't worry about that, Bella," he murmured on the other end.

But I couldn't erase the worry that was eating away at me.

Friday morning Charlie went down to La Push. He didn't ask me if I wanted to come along – he already knew the answer. La Push meant Jacob. It was his territory, his home. I might have still been welcome, but I didn't want to go back.

So I cleaned the house and made turkey soup with some of the left over turkey. Charlie's method of cleaning was to push everything into corners, so I had a lot of stuff to keep busy with. Alice was entertaining me with text messages every few minutes. She was out Black Friday shopping with Jasper's mom, and was having a great time by the sound of it.

My phone rang once in the mid-morning, and the caller ID flashed Renee. I ignored it, putting my headphones back on and attacking the rug beneath the coffee table. It looked like Charlie had spilt a can of beer and then just mopped it up with some paper towels.

So I was expecting the email I got later that night when I opened up my laptop.

Bella, your dad told me you were angry with us for bugging you about your boyfriend. Edward, is it? Your dad couldn't remember. I'm just worried about you. I think it's too soon after Jacob. I know how much you cared about Jacob, and I don't want to rush headlong into these things. I hope your thanksgiving went well. We ended up going to Denny's and getting breakfast after I burnt the turkey to a crisp. I miss you! Love, Mom

I sent Renee a quick email back, telling her that I was fine and that I would call her next week. I felt bad about screening her call, but that was a conversation I'd have to work myself up to.

I had moved onto the kitchen and was scrubbing all the surfaces when Charlie got home.

"Bells," he called.

"I'm in the kitchen!" I shouted, throwing the sponge into the sink.

I heard Charlie come into the kitchen behind me, and turned to him with a big smile, to let him know that he was forgiven.

"How was La Push?" I asked.

He shrugged, going over to the fridge.

"It was good to see everybody," he replied.

I knew what that meant. Jacob was home for Thanksgiving, too, apparently. I'd felt a little bad all day about not going with Charlie. Billy was a great guy, and an old friend of my father's. He'd always looked out for me. But now I knew I was right not to go. I couldn't handle seeing Jacob.

"Jake was there," Charlie said, looking at me warily.

I think he was expecting me to break down into hysterics.

"Oh."

"He, well, he wanted to know if he could come see you. He said he wants to apologize for everything that happened," Charlie told me.

I froze, one hand on the sink, my eyes staring out the window.

No. No, no, no. I couldn't see Jacob. I didn't think I could handle it.

He'd broken my heart and left me in pieces. Pieces that Edward was slowly putting back together, erasing every fault line. What if I saw him again and those pieces flew apart again? What if I saw him and hurt Edward in the process?

"No," I whispered, out loud this time.

"It's okay, Bella. You don't have to," Charlie said.

I unfroze, and turned to look at my father.

"I don't want to," I said, firmly.

Charlie nodded, and went back to the fridge, neatly closing the topic.

I turned the water on and washed the sponge. Once I was done I dismissed myself back up to my room, and curled up on my bed.

I waited for the tears to come, but they didn't. After a few minutes I sat up and stared at the opposite wall. There were a few pictures hung up on the walls, of my family and friends. I realized I needed to hang a picture of Edward there.

I reached for my cell phone and dialed his number.

"Bella?"

"Hey," I said, smiling into the phone, "How are you?"

Author's Note- Not a whole lot of fluff, but never worry, there will be next chapter! Yay! So, please review. It only takes a second and it gives me motivation to write faster. I only had seven reviews last chapter, so let's see if we can beat that! I'd hate to be one of those authors who only updates if they have a certain number of reviews. Thanks!