Rays of sunlight poured through the windowpane, blinding my tired eyes. I closed them tighter, hoping to block the light, but with no such luck. I could still feel the sun burning my retinas through my eyelids, and decided now was as good a time as any to wake up.

I removed my arm from around Edward's waist, and his sleeping figure twitched under the skin of my hand moving, and he awakened. His eyes opened then closed a few times before finally staying open. "Morning," he smiled sweetly, still half-asleep.

"Morning, Edward," I smiled.

He turned a little, and landed on his back since he was on his side. "So, how was last night? Are you okay and everything?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled sincerely.

"So did it hurt?" he asked quietly.

"Um, a little," I trailed off. Truth be told, it was pretty painful at first. But the pain went away quickly. "It was worth it though. I'm glad it was you," I smiled.

He smiled sweetly, and suddenly got out of the bed. He walked over to my side of the bed and lifted me up bridal-style. "What are you doing?!" I laughed.

"We have to go get Megan from her friend's house!" he grinned.

"You do realize I'm in my underwear?!"

"Oh. Right," he said, putting me down and grabbing shorts and a shirt of his out of his drawer. "Put these on," he instructed, throwing them at me.

I did as I was told, and we headed out the door, now both fully clothed, and got into his car.

He put the keys in the ignition and pulled out of the driveway. "Damn. I miss you in your underwear already," he sighed.

I blushed. "Shut up, Edward," I laughed.

-------

The days passed, and Sunday came; the day Edward's parents came home. The day I'd have to leave.

"Morning, Edward," I said, walking downstairs to see Edward eating cereal in the kitchen.

"Hey Bella. You look good today," he smiled. Weird. I looked like shit. I didn't brush my hair, didn't put on makeup, and I had bags under my eyes since I barely got any sleep. I was too worried about what would happen when Megan and I got home to fall asleep.

I sat down next to Edward at the island and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Your parents will be home in like, three hours. I don't want to go home," I sighed.

"I don't want you to, either. But I'm pretty sure my parents would kill me if they found out I had a girl stay over for nearly a week," he chuckled.

Finished with his cereal, he put the bowl in the sink and pecked my lips. "Here, I'll help you and Meg pack up."

I nodded, and we ascended the steps to his bedroom where I had been staying. I grabbed the bag I brought and started throwing clothes and any of my other belongings into it. We did the same with Megan's clothes, and the three of us went downstairs.

Edward sighed and looked at me. "Well. I guess we better go… I just don't want you to."

"But I have to. We can still see each other and everything," I assured him.

"I know, but I liked having you here every day," he chuckled. "And besides, I'm worried about you going back to your dad…" he trailed off.

I shrugged. "I'm sure everything will be okay."

"Call me ASAP if anything goes wrong, or if you need help. I hate seeing you with bruises," he whispered, kissing my lips softly.

-------

Edward stopped the car in our driveway, and turned his head to me and smiled. "Bye, Bella. I love you."

"I love you too, Edward." I leaned over and kissed him.

"Ew! Stop kissing!" Megan whined from the backseat.

I smiled at Edward, amused with my little sister's complaining about the situation. "Bye, Edward," I said, getting out of the car.

I grabbed Megan's hand and walked up the sidewalk to the front of the house, hearing Edward honk the horn as he drove onto the street.

"Wait here, Meg," I said, leaving her on the porch. I walked over to the mailbox, expecting to see a check from Susan and Rick, our wealthy aunt and uncle. They gave us money each month for food, bills, and other utilities since my Dad couldn't hold up a steady job because of his drinking.

Although today was Sunday, we shouldn't have received any mail, but we should have gotten it Friday. I assumed it would still be in there because my Dad wasn't responsible enough to get his ass off the couch to go get it.

I opened it up, and a sea of envelopes dropped onto the ground. I picked them up and sorted through them. "Bills, bills, bills, magazine, bills…" I muttered under my breath, searching for the check.

I finally got to the last one, seeing it was just another bill. My eyes widened. No money! Did they forget to send us the check? Did it get lost in the mail? Possibilities raced through my head. The only thing I could do was go inside the house and see if maybe, just maybe, Dad had gotten it out of the mailbox after all. Of course, I didn't tell Megan what happened, because I didn't want to worry her with our financial situation.

I opened the door and walked in, Megan following behind me. Darkness enveloped me. The lights, the television, and every other electrical appliance was turned off. I reached my arm out to the light switch located by the door, and flipped it upward. Nothing happened. "Meg, don't move," I instructed her.

I took a step forward into the darkness, crying out in pain as my foot stomped on a beer bottle, causing me to trip. I took baby steps into the kitchen, trying to feel my way through the path of bottles, but failing.

Finally, I found myself in the kitchen, and grabbed a flashlight that was in a cabinet and flipped the switch, finally being able to clearly evaluate my surroundings.

I turned around and gasped, seeing my father sitting on the stool by the island, head laying on the wooden surface, obviously passed out.

I shook my head and went back into the living room where I left Megan, now armed with a flashlight. "I found a flashlight," I informed her. "I'm going to check the fuse box. Maybe a fuse got blown while we were gone. I don't know why else the lights won't turn on."

I was still freaking out about the fact that we didn't have the check in the mail, but I tried to push that thought to the back of my mind. I could only deal with one problem at a time without having a complete breakdown.

I went outside to find the fuse box and made a few repairs, hoping that would remedy the problem. "Go back inside and see if you can get the lights to turn on," I told Megan.

She nodded, and went inside. A few seconds passed, and she came back out. "I still couldn't get anything to turn on," she admitted.

I sighed in anger, frustration, sadness, worry, and every possible negative emotion you could possibly have. I attempted to count my blessings, but I just couldn't. Thoughts that overtook my mind instead were negative: the thought of not having electricity, not having any money for food or utilities, having a father passed out in the kitchen and now –

Now, I saw a vehicle pull into the driveway. I read the decaled lettering on the side of the black car.

Social Services.