Thanks for Greymatters, ButterflyBetty and Cullen Confection.

I am an epic failure at review replies. I promise I am working on getting better. I just quit my second job so I will have more time now.

Hold on tight, it is about to get bumpy.

SM owns it, I just chlorinate the gene pool.

Chapter 21

Edward stayed away the entire weekend. He didn't call, he didn't come, he just didn't care. I went through the motions of unpacking, taking pills and just realizing that leaving was not the best plan for me. I watched Jasper and Alice interact together.

I turned to my pills. The more numb I could make myself the better I was. There comes a point when you need for your brain to shut down. You can only criticize yourself so much before your body just says enough. My body was beginning to say enough. I was just going through the motions with Alice and Jasper until I could start my job and "therapy" in the next week.

I couldn't remember the last time I ate a meal.

Monday morning came. I smoked as we went to the dining hall. I picked up a bagel and cream cheese, but left it on my plate and moved it around as I watched Alice and tuned her out. I know that she knew I wasn't listening, but at least she was talking to me.

I thought about my conversations with Renee and Granny over the past weekend. I could hear the pity laced in their voices. It was making me sick to my stomach, they were trying to take the blame for my stupidity. I was stupid and fat. Alice was going on and on about the concert coming up and I was wondering why the hell Edward didn't give a fuck about me. I wanted to just get up and walk away. But that would be rude. The pills were making me think slower. I needed that. I craved that. I didn't want to listen to Alice, wonder about Edward, worry about Granny, stress about school and feel guilty about Riley.

All of a sudden I felt wild and wounded at the same time. Something in me snapped. I couldn't explain it. I interrupted Alice midsentence. "Alice, I need to smoke."

I changed in that moment. I felt it in my heart as I walked away toward the computer lab, keeping my head down. I needed air. I needed strength. I needed to fucking breathe. I lit a cigarette and choked back a sob. I needed to feel needed. I wiped silent tears from face. I needed Edward. As though my thoughts had conjured him, when I looked up he was there.

I may have needed him, but in that moment, I didn't want him; I was too pissed at him. I turned around, took a long, long drag off my cigarette and then turned back toward him. I blew out my smoke, put my cigarette in the ashtray, and walked the fuck right by him.

The entire team met in the main computer lab everyday to get their assignments. Alice, Jasper and Emmett came in close behind me and Edward was the last to enter. He tried to come close to me. I wrapped my arms around myself. The leader, Max, handed out assignments and told me I would be working with a kid named Tobey and another chick; I didn't hear her name. Apparently all the kids worked in groups of two. And this is how I would get my training.

"Ms. Swan?" asked Max.

"Yes sir?" I answered.

"I know you have another meeting that may interfere with your schedule. Just get your work done," he told me and them motioned for me to catch up to Tobey and no-name chick.

I looked up and saw Edward and Tobey talking. No-name chick was chatting with Alice. Everyone seemed comfortable except me; I was a stranger in my own skin. Before I exited the building I stopped by the water fountain. A little Xanax would go a long way for today.

Edward was staring at me when I looked up from the water fountain. Or at least I think that he was, because it was hard to see behind his sunglasses. I walked out looking straight at him. Thank God, I didn't trip over anything.

"Hey, Bella," no-name chick said. "I'm Jane." I turned to her. "Alice has said that you have met and hung out with them for a bit. We can show you around and show you what we do, but honestly it isn't that hard."

"Great, Jane. I appreciate the help."

She lit a smoke right in front of me. My craving must have been obvious, because she held the pack out to me. "Want one?"

"Yeah, I do. Honestly, this is just a lot to get used to." I look Edward square in the eyes. "It seems like as soon as I get one thing straight in my head it changes."

Jane followed my eyes. She chuckled. "Yeah, good luck with that one."

She turned and walked over to Tobey and they talked about the lists we were given. I stood off by myself. Edward finished his conversation about his sheet with Emmett and started toward me.

He stood in front of me; I felt trapped. I looked around hoping someone would notice. I closed my eyes took a deep breath. This was not okay. My head was screaming to me. I realized Edward was talking. I opened my eyes, Jasper was walking toward us. Edward was still talking. I turned to the left and looked out into the distance.

"Bella, you okay?" Jasper asked me.

"Yeah, Jasper, I am," I said to Jasper while still staring in the distance. "I thought I heard the wind blowing, and it sounded like someone talking, but I just think I'm hearing things." When I finished, I looked Edward briefly in the eyes, and walked away.

"Brown Eyes," Edward said sternly. I kept walking. "Brown Eyes!" He said louder. I was trying to get to Tobey and Jane. "Damn it Bella. Stop! Just listen to me!"

"I heard you loud and clear Cullen. I get that you didn't feel the need to see me or talk to me this weekend. So don't fucking act like we're best friends." Everyone was watching us.

Max came out of his dungeon. "Why aren't you kids working? Edward, you know the drill; you can't get sent home. Now get to work. All of you. Swan, you can't be laying off either. You know what? Cullen you take Swan with you and Emmett. Looks like the two of you have some issues. Work them out or you are both out! Got it?" He didn't wait for us to respond. "Good, now GO!"

For the love of God, could my luck get any freaking worse?

"Ok, so we are working on the 200 hall of Blackburn dorm. Bella-Bella, we need to test each rooms ability to connect to the schools intranet as well as the external internet. But first we have to put cover plates on the connections. That is what we are doing today. We have 8 hours to finish twenty rooms. Seriously, we can knock this out," Emmett explained.

The tension between Edward and I was thick. I tried to keep pace with Emmet but in my bitch-tacular mood I was losing ground. And I could tell that Edward was trying to get the opportunity to be one-on-one. "Dude, you have got to slow down. Unless you want to carry my fat ass."

Emmett came to a stop and roared with laughter. "Sorry Bella. I'm not used to having someone other than Cullen with me when I'm working."

"So, how long with this take?" I asked them both while everyone paused to light smokes.

"Between the three of us, we can finish the rooms in about two hours. Especially once you are able to do a room on your own. Seriously, the afternoon is ours. Max doesn't care, but you and Cullen can't keep fighting like that," Emmett answered.

"Brown Eyes?" Edward tried to get my attention.

"Don't call me that."

"Bella, stop treating me like I'm Riley! Hear me out…" he almost shouted at me.

"Then stop acting like him!" It was wrong of me to say that. The moment the words left my mouth I knew I should not have said them.

"What, the only way to get you to listen to me is to hold you down? Fuck this, Bella. You don't know what happened."

"I don't know what happened because you couldn't be bothered to pick up a phone and call!" We were both shouting at each other. Part of me was expecting him to hit me. I don't know where this aggression was coming from. The other part of me knew I was angry with the right person but for all the wrong reasons.

"Guys, you better cool it. Public Safety is coming. I mean I hate to break up the romance and all but look." Emmett pointed up the sidewalk.

We turned to finish our walk to the dorm. The Public Safety Officer caught up to us. "Are you Isabella Swan?"

"Yes, sir." I looked at Emmett and then Edward.

"I need you to come back to the Public Safety office, we need to talk with you. Your friends can come, too, they may need to hear this. Especially you, Mr. Cullen."

"Yes, sir," I repeated. I knew this could mean my scholarship were gone. All over a stupid fight with another stupid boy.

We all started walking behind the public safety officer. "Max told me where you were. We came looking for you as soon as we got the call."

Edward spoke up, "Sir, can you tell us what is going on?"

"I need to wait until we get back to the Public Safety Office, Edward. "

Edward stepped close to me and matched my pace. I had put my arms across my chest trying to give myself the support I needed to go another step. A thousand different things were going through my mind from losing the scholarship or the work study, to Granny getting sick, to the pills that were in my pants pocket.

"Officer Bailey, do you think I need to call my dad?" Edward asked him.

"You know what Edward? That may not be a bad idea."

That one sentence made me realize that I had fallen for Edward, and being angry over my broken heart was going to cost me everything. Why did I have to speak up? I should have just let Edward talk and not cared. I hung my head. I hadn't realized that Edward had stepped in front of me until I ran into him.

"Hey. Look at me," he said, reaching out and putting his hands on my shoulders. "I don't know what is going on. But you and me, ok? You and me, together. Got it?"

I gave him a small smile and nodded my head. For the next ten minutes I would take the strength where ever I could find it.

As we walked I thought of the different things I needed to do. Edward was walking slightly behind me. I reached in my pants pockets and tried to slide out the two pills without the public safety officer seeing me. I knew that if they found these on me I would certainly be sent back home. As I pulled my hand out of my pocket ready to drop the pills into the grass, Edward grabbed my elbow and shook his head. He grabbed my hand and let me drop the pills into his.

This was his way of taking responsibility for me.

I remembered one of the last times Riley and I were together, he hid acid on me so he wouldn't get caught with it. I looked over at Edward and I knew at least for this moment, he was different.

I would be honored if you left me some love. It inspires me to write.

I am reading Fight Club by Ro Nordmann. Love Fighterward.

I would also love it if you checked out my one shot called Let me be your Parachute. Do it…you know you want too.