A/N: I have no clue how it happened, but this story has been nominated for a Non-Canon award for best Bella/Garrett pairing. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU! I'll let you know when the voting is open and where to go if you would like to vote for this story. I apologize once again for leaving you hanging. It has not been a banner 2016 and I have been pulled away from my computer more than I would have liked. Enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 14 – Stuck in the Middle

Bella felt as if she was suspended between the dream and awake world, floating in nothingness – that moment when your consciousness starts to become aware and pushes your subconscious to the back of the mind. She didn't want to leave the dream world. That's where she could be with Garrett without people judging her, without anyone thinking she had been sipping a little too much cray-cray juice. It was where she didn't have to worry and she could be free without the worries and problems of the world…or the problems created by her own parents.

Her parents were fools. Were all adults like that? Maybe, but she never wanted to be. On one hand her father had refused to fight for something he wanted, however, on the other hand her mother had lied to her in order to make sure Bella remained loyal to only one parent. Which one was more fucked up? Weighing the pros and cons – her mother. Renee had stolen a parent from Bella, basically ripping Charlie out of her life so that he was only hanging on by a thread, but part of that he had brought upon himself. But what goaded Bella even more, last night her mother tried to keep the lies buried and hidden even though her own daughter confronted her with the truth.

Dream world was her safe haven. It held Garrett and had become a place they could be together regardless of circumstances. And she knew when he finally left – because she knew he had to – this would be the only place they would meet until it was her time to join him. When would that be? How much time? Would she have moved on? Found someone to fill up the holes Garrett was sure to leave behind? Would she get married and have kids? Or would she never find anyone that could make her feel like Garrett always did? In the short amount of time he had been with her, forced into their unconventional relationship, she had fallen in love. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. A fucking ghost had become the man she yearned for in real life. It was a plot fresh out of Hollywood or a cheesy romance novel. What a joke!

The pull of the awake world, the real world, jerked her forward a little more and she did what she could to push back. If she couldn't stay in her dream would, she would settle for the in between. Garrett could be with her there as well. Waking did not appeal to her and she would fight it with everything she could. Besides after her mother's revelations the night before, she just wanted to pretend for a little longer that everything in her life was for once perfect. Yes, it may make her sound more like a petulant teenager than someone on the verge of adulthood, but in this moment, in this brief period of time, she didn't care.

"Bella…" Garrett had been trying to get her to awaken for the past hour, albeit not very hard since he was enjoying watching here sleeping face and hearing her call out his name. He enjoyed it too much. Neither one of them could change his fate, he had to leave; and yet, the last thing he wanted to do was to leave her behind when she was so unsure about so many things. Hell! If he was being honest, he never wanted to leave her. For the first time in his life – dead and undead – someone had found a way to burrow into his heart – his very soul – and had taken up residence. Before Bella, girls were nothing more than flings and one night stands. If someone lasted longer than 2 or three nights…actually, that had never happened either. Never in his life had he thought about a girl the way he thought about the brunette lying next to him in bed. And the irony is, he had found her when he could no longer have her.

"Bella," his soft whisper called out to her again. Before she fell asleep the night before, she had been upset by her phone call with Renee. He couldn't blame her. Even he wanted to reach through the phone and slap the other woman, and he believed violence against someone weaker was wrong…very wrong. But to manipulate your own child…who the hell did shit like that? He knew the answer. Too many damn people.

Did this really mean that his purpose, his mission if you will, was for Bella's sake? Had he fucked up so much that the only way to get into heaven was to do something good for someone else? Someone who needed it? Flashes of overly romantic movies that the Hallmark Channel specialized in popped into his head. Not normally his cup of tea, but in the past, he had found women ate it up. Not to mention that some of the girls in his family liked to watch that channel, so he found himself a prisoner of romantic bullshit more often than he wanted to be. Looking down at Bella again though, he would have willingly suffered that and more for her. Still would. He would have found a romantic side and have wooed her until she was drowning in it. No more though. She had her life to live and it could not include him. The sooner he left, the better…but damn it was hard to let her go.

"Bella," he tried again. They needed to talk in order to move forward. Whatever that meant in this moment. They weren't exactly working with an instruction manual. No angels from heaven were giving him guidance, they weren't left with a set of instructions like in Beetlejuice. They were on their own figuring everything out as it got thrown their way and filling in the pieces that were missing the best they could.

Groaning, she finally opened her eyes and found Garrett hovering over her with a smile on his face. She didn't think, still half asleep, she just acted. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down and pressed her lips to his.

Garrett gave in momentarily. It was hard not to, and he was still a man after all – even if he was dead. Did that make him a supernatural perv? That thought went tumbling into another and another and he finally came to his senses and pushed her away, "No. We can't."

Can't? Bella dropped her arms and stared at the man/ghost in bed with her. Can't? Why did it sound funny to her ears, and then it was as if lightning struck and she was fully awake. Her cheeks turning pink she scrambled out of bed and rushed, "You're right. I'm just going to take a shower and be back." She had never tried to escape a room as quickly as she just did. She needed separation from him.

Punching the pillow, he stared at the door as if any moment his lifeline would return. Why did this have to happen now? Why did he get paired up with her? And why did he finally find love only to never be able to act on it? Okay now he was even getting on his own nerves. Some of his friends might have called him a wuss or wrapped in that moment, and he might have to agree. Bella was messing with his head and he couldn't allow that to happen.

Bella sat on the toilet trying to collect her thoughts for several minutes before she even turned on the water. She needed to clear her head and forget…move forward. Having Garrett here was bad, even if it felt so good and right.

A long shower later, she was blow drying her hair and felt like she had a grip on her emotions and everything else. Kind of. Her mother had lied to her and had essentially separated her from her father. Yes, she had her own part in the treasonous act, but if it hadn't been for her mother… Her father had wanted her this whole time, loved her, but for whatever reason didn't fight for her. She heard his excuses and stories, but the fact was he hadn't fought for her. Hadn't tried to explain himself or tried to right the wrong. Garrett was most probably there because of her, although, she wasn't exactly sure why. Surely she wasn't the only teen or person on the planet that was going through something like this. She couldn't be. Not only that, there were plenty of people who had it worse than she did. She still had two loving parents – even if the relationship was slightly estranged. She still had a roof over her head, food to eat, and people who cared. She had her life. It may not be as exciting as some, although having a ghost haunt her was different, but it was still a life. One she could choose to move through quietly and unassuming like she had been, afraid to take a risk, or she could finally take control of it and live it the way she needed to, building relationships and making friends. She had always been afraid because of what happened between her parents. Not only was she afraid of love, she was afraid of any kind of real relationship. The ball was in her court now. What was she going to choose?

Her head was swimming with everything running through it 90 to nothing. Could she forgive her parents? Probably given time. Could she move forward? She didn't have much choice in the matter. The world kept on spinning.

And she would have probably continued to ponder the mysteries of the universe (or her own personal universe) if someone hadn't knocked on her front door. Anything to give herself a break. Rushing down the stairs, she yanked open the door and wanted to immediately close it. Edward. "What do you want?" He was the one person she didn't want to see.

"I came to talk to you," he answered, his eyes darting back and forth behind her trying to catch a glimpse of something that was off. He might not have been able to see Garrett at the house, but maybe his cousin had found a way to materialize, and Garrett was the last person he wanted to see right now.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she scowled, "So talk."

"Can I come in?"

"So nice of you to actually ask before you attempt to break in and enter."

"I had my reasons!"

"Not a good one as far as I'm concerned. Why don't you just leave?"

A hard look crossed Edward's face, "You do realize that he's dead and you can't have him."

SLAP! Her hand stung from the force she used to hit him on his face. She wasn't normally a violent person, but he had crossed the line and had brought it out of her. "Don't! You have no idea what the hell is going on! Ergo, your fucking opinion is of no concern or consequence to me!"

"Bella…"

"NO! I don't have to listen to you or your bullshit! Get the fuck off my porch and away from my house before I call my dad again!"

"Bella, you have to listen to me!"

"Why? So you can break into my bedroom again? So you can spout lies about Garrett? So you can talk about what an ass he is and how you are so much fucking better? How about this… I. DON'T. FUCKING. CARE. WHAT. YOU. HAVE. TO. SAY. ABOUT. HIM. OR. WHAT. WE. ARE. GOING. THROUGH!" Each word was accented with a jab into his chest. She could see the anger and irritation burning in his eyes, growing with each jab, however, she couldn't bring herself to care.

Growling, he grabbed her wrist, "Bella…" The warning in his voice practically vibrated through his body until he cried out in pain.

She hadn't even seen Garrett move out of the house or around her, but twisting Edward's other arm behind his back he stood, once again coming to her recuse and playing knight in shining armor. "Garrett," her whispered words carried on the breeze.

"Garrett! Let me go!" Edward demanded, his grip on Bella's wrist tightening. He heard her hiss, but he still did not relinquish his hold on her.

"Take your own fucking advice," Garrett snarled uncaring that his cousin could neither hear him nor see him.

"He…He said to let me go, Edward!" She tried to pry her hand out of his grip just as he howled in pain when Garrett tightened his own hold and twisted Edward's arm higher behind his back.

With a growl of frustration, Edward dropped Bella's wrist. He hadn't meant for it to go as far as it did, but he needed her to see reason.

Bending in close, Garrett spit, "Leave."

"Leave, Edward," Bella ordered taking a step back into the house and slamming the door, locking it tightly. The backdoor was still unlocked so Garrett should be able to come in through that entrance since he still didn't seem to be able to move through objects. Odd given that he was a ghost and all of the ghost stories she had ever heard or read showed ghosts being able to do just that. Then again, he was the first one she had ever met in person.

Sagging against the door, she fell to the ground. Her life had become such a cluster since moving to Forks and she was confused about what step to take next. She had to do something though because remaining stagnant, going back and forth with Garrett, enduring the push and pull…she had to stop it. Keeping on foot in and one foot out would not help either of them in the long run. It was something she kept thinking and never managed to stay the course. It was time she did though.

She needed to talk to someone, but who? Not Garrett. He was too close to the matter. Not her parents either. Her emotions where they were concerned were all over the board. Definitely not Edward. If anything, he scared her and what he may or may not do to her. Who else did she have? Dr. Cullen? Possibly.

The decision was pulled out of her hands and put on the backburner when she got a call. Something had happened to her father on duty.