I hope you all had a very nice Thanksgiving!

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EPOV

The days that passed since Bella had basically ended things dragged on for ages. Bella never called, and I got more and more agitated. Annabelle was a terror as well, hardly speaking and shooting me dirty looks. Alice, too, was pissed at me. She insisted that I was the worst brother ever for making her choose between Bella and I as her best friend. I had to ignore that one- I credited that phone message to coffee and caffeine.

So, I worked. And worked, and worked. I worked my ass off and tried to focus on anything but Isabella Swan.

But that was proving nearly impossible to do. She was constantly on my mind, and I moped around my house on the days I didn't have to work. Finally, Annabelle branched out a little bit.

It was Saturday, a week from the night my relationship with Bella went to hell. I was sitting at the kitchen table, pretending to do paperwork but really just staring off into space and thinking about Bella and all the mistakes I had made. I hadn't heard Annabelle walk into the room, so I jumped slightly when she sat down next to me at the table.

"Sorry." She whispered, glancing at me through her eyelashes. I managed a small smile and tapped her gently on the nose.

"It's okay, squirt. I just didn't hear you come in. I was…uh, doing stuff for work." I assured her. Annabelle nodded and stared at me wordlessly, biting her bottom lip. Just like Bella used to do.

"What are you so sad?" She asked softly, looking concerned.

"I'm not sad." I lied unconvincingly, and I could tell that Annabelle did not believe me.

She sighed and tapped her short nails on the table top. "Do you miss her?" Annabelle finally asked, her cheeks flushed pink. I was silent for a moment, wondering what I should say in a situation like this one. After the divorce, I never expected to have another long term relationship. So I never prepared myself to let another woman so completely into my life. Annabelle had been my focus for so long…

"Miss who?" I finally asking, keeping my eyes downcast. Annabelle sighed again and I could hear the reluctance in her voice.

"Her. You know…Bella."

Taking a deep breath, I brought mu eyes up to meet my daughters. As I did so, my heart welled up.

She looked so much like her mother. Pure blue eyes, full of curiousity and framed by thick, long lashes. Thick blonde curls that tumbled down her back, and a tiny petite frame. Just like Rosalie. And, just like Rosalie, I hated to let her down. Rose had been my entire life at one point, and then Anna…and now I was just divided.

Bella was my love, but Annabelle was my life.

How could I separate the two? Give both of them all that they deserved?

"Dad." Annabelle said suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts. I jerked in surprise again and Annabelle's face fell slightly. "You do." She whispered, looking away from me again. "You really miss her." She said, and I saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I was the one that made her go away." She choked out, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

I reached over and brushed it away with my thumb and then took Annabelle's hand and led her into the living room, leaving my paperwork behind.

I sat down on the arm chair and pulled Annabelle into my lap. She was thirteen years old and almost to big for this to be comfortable anymore, but I didn't care. I wrapped both my arms around my daughter as she pressed her face into my chest and started to cry. Her torrent of tears started to soak through my shirt, but again I could not bring myself to care. I just ran my fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"It's not your fault, Anna." I soothed her, rocking her back and forth slightly. "I made some pretty big mistakes, and that's why Bella left." I explained.

"But I was so mean." Annabelle said through her tears. "And last Saturday I pretended to fall asleep early and then snuck downstairs when I heard noises-"

Annabelle trailed off, unveiling a fresh round of tears. "You must hate me. I ruined everything."

"Hey, baby, it's okay." I murmured into her ear. "I could never, ever hate you, Annabelle. I want you to get that through your head right now, because I'm always going to love you. No matter what, you're always going to be my daughter. Your mother and I both love you so much; in the way only a parent can love their child. You have to realize that, baby."

Annabelle sniffled and looked up at me, still crying a little bit. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I know you were happy with Bella…and now that she's gone…you're sad. And I don't want you to be sad."

I smiled and kissed the top of her head again. "I'm going to fix things with Bella, honey. And even if things don't work out between Bella and I…I have you. And you make me happy, Annabelle."

She smiled sweetly at me and buried her head into the crook of my neck again, no longer crying at all.

"I'll tell Bella I'm sorry, if that would help." She murmured, and I shrugged.

"Okay. But I've got a lot of begging to do to make Bella realize that I want her back in my life."

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Sorry it's kind of short, but we're putting up Christmas decorations now.

Please review!

Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie