Learning To Fall

by A Kind Kiss

Leaving her past, Bella moves to Forks one summer and finds that her father has turned the house into a boarding house! There she meets five extraordinary people, including one boy who makes the unexpected happen. AU, All Human. Full Summary Inside.

21. Finally

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, got it?

I looove you guys, and how much you adore this fic! It makes it even more enjoyable for me to write. I'm so sad it's come to an end. It's been almost a year since I've started it, though, and I need to get a-cracking on my other projects! Thank you for all the support!
P.S. I passed. I PASSED! Just barely. But I'm so unbelievably happy. Thanks for all the best wishes, you guys! I want to give you all gigantic hugs and Edward Cullen.
Ear Candy:
Boston - Augustana

Learning To Fall
A Twilight fanfic by Starfire Star

Chapter Twenty-One: Finally

Emmett did not kill Jacob. No, but he hurt him pretty badly. Emmett received a year's ban from the pancake house and a promise from Jacob never to return to Forks again. Which was a crying shame, really, since Forks is a beautiful place to visit.

I didn't think that Jacob would ever agree to staying away, being stubborn as I knew him, but I guess he really did change. But that didn't matter. I knew that even though he became a better person, he could never completely erase the physical and emotional pain he inflicted upon me. It would just become a part of me; a part of me that I had to get used to. But I was done being sad.

Emmett gave Jacob a black eye before his cell phone rang, his ringtone a blaring, fast-beat rock song. Jacob held his hands to his face, and I rushed over, trying to attend in any way possible. My face was red, partially furious that Emmett would actually hurt someone and not listen to me, and partially scared and embarrassed, scared that this act of violence would unleash the Jacob I knew, the Jacob that acted up when he was angry.

But he didn't, he simply sat there, looking at me through his good eye, whimpering, "I'm sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you." I didn't know whether if he was genuinely sorry or if he was just afraid that Emmett would spring out of nowhere and attack him again, but the anger in me immediately melted away and I crouched before him, my own face sad. The look on his face was different, yet the same from all the ones I had known.

Customers spilled out of the diner and onto the scene, staying as far away as they could from the newly-aggravated Emmett, speaking furiously into his phone, not a single hair on his head touched, his shirt not even crumpled. The strong, violent Jacob I knew was nowhere to be seen.

One of the diner ladies, whom I recognized as Mrs. Hardwicke, rushed to my side, holding an ice-pack immediately to Jacob's face. "Don't worry, honey, I'll take care of it," she murmured to me, shaking her head. "Kids these days…" she turned to glare at Emmett for a moment, who flipped his phone shut and muttered, "Shit!"

"You're banned, young man!" the manager shook his finger at Emmett, advancing toward him as the crowd looked on. "You may not come within 20 feet of this property, you hear me? If I have to get me a court order, then God help me so be it!" Emmett blinked at him and shrugged. To me, he said, "Get in the car, Bella, we have to leave. Hurry."

I trusted Emmett, but I wasn't just about to leave Jacob wounded and run away with the convict. Or maybe I was. I stared at Jacob as Emmett headed to the driver's door of his Jeep. "Do you want your ring back?" I asked him. Jacob shook his head. "Naw, keep it. It's yours." The corners of my mouth turned up, just a bit. I knew I would never keep the ring, but it was nice of him to offer. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

"How can you just leave with him? Aren't you afraid?" Jacob asked as I turned to leave. Funny thing was I asked myself the same question when Jacob had one of his violent attacks before, in the past. And the answer was always the same. "No. I trust him."

I ran to the passenger's side, threw myself into the cab and slammed the door. Jacob's eyes held mine as Emmett reversed the car. He stuck his head out the window. "That was for Rosalie!" he yelled, before sneaking a quick glance at me. "And for B.S.! See ya!"

-

As we drove away, I looked through the mirror to make sure Jacob was able to get up; to make sure that he was alright. I sighed and turned around. "Hello, stranger," I half-smiled at Emmett. Emmett glanced at me. "Are you sad?" he asked bluntly as he pulled onto the highway. I shook my head slowly, and then shrugged. "I don't know," I murmured. "It's just that I always wondered how things would be like when he came back. I was always so curious about him, and now I'm just leaving him there on the dirt-paved road."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "He was a jerk to you, alright? It should be easier to leave a jerk than to stay with one." I laughed shakily. I turned my attention to slightly more important matters. "What's going on? Why do we have to leave so quickly?"

Emmett sighed. "Alice dispatched me to go and get you. We were so scared that you ran away with him, you know?" I gulped. Run away with Jacob? Been there, done that.

"I wouldn't do something like that," I told him. "But did Alice and Rosalie and Jasper really let you go, knowing that you would just kick Jacob's ass?"

Emmett laughed. "I think that's what they wanted." I snorted.

"Anyway, they knew I drove the craziest and would do anything at any circumstances to go get you," Emmett continued. "Plus, they needed to stay so they could stall."

"Stall? Why?"

Emmett sighed again. "Bella, have you seriously forgotten what today is? What's supposed to be happening today?" I shook my head. My mind drew a blank.

"Carlisle and Esme are supposed to leave today," Emmett replied, taking a look at the clock on the dashboard. "They're supposed to leave for the airport in twenty-five minutes. Their flight doesn't leave for quite some time, but Esme likes to be early. That's why I'm driving as fast as I am."

"No more time for getting friendly," I sighed.

I looked out the windshield, and my stomach leapt. He was right—we were driving at an insanely fast speed, and I immediately gripped the arm rest. "I completely forgot about them leaving," I said uneasily, my eyes wide, desperately trying to calm down. Emmett looked at ease, but as soon as he saw my horror-struck face, slowed down.

"Bella… there's something else," Emmett continued gently. I stared at him, my eyes still wide, and my brain began whirling. "What is it now?" I asked him uneasily, waiting to take a bullet to the gut.

"Edward is going with them."

"What?"

Emmett took a deep breath and began to explain. "Look, things didn't go as everyone thought. Edward is leaving with his parents—it was all decided last night. He's going back to Chicago already."

I felt like my heart really did slow down, instead of speeding up. I felt an ache in it that just hurt too much for my heart to quicken whenever I heard Edward's name. I understood why we had to go back to the house so quickly—I would want to be there too if my best friend was leaving practically all the way across the country. And Edward and I had grown close.

"That's not all," Emmett continued, and I began to grow tired of the elation and surprises.

"Emmett, you should just tell me everything in one go instead of waiting for my reaction," I told him, my voice worn. "I should be quite predictable by now." Emmett smiled and shook his head.

"Bella, Edward is in love with you. You two need to be together."

"Emmett, this really is getting old. I know where it's going, and it's not going to work."

"It's true though."

"Stop."

"He broke up with Tanya."

I blinked. He broke up with Tanya? He broke up with Tanya? For a moment, a fleeting moment, even though I knew it meant nothing, I couldn't help but feel shivers run down my spine. What did this mean? Nothing, of course. If they didn't work out, that was their business…

"Don't tell me you're not happy about this," Emmett looked genuinely concerned. I lay my head against the window, water droplets still fresh on his Jeep, and stared out into the gloom. We were almost home, and all the pieces would fall in place. Everything could be as it was supposed to be. I glanced at Emmett. "I don't know why I should be happy about one of my friends' newly-single status," I replied, knowing in my heart that I felt a moment, a small fraction of hope. Emmett groaned a frustrated groan. "Well, everything should work out soon. We're almost there."

"So is that was what Alice wanted us home quickly for, right? To see them off?" Emmett half-shrugged. "Yes, I'm the one to drop them off at the airport. And we wanted to make sure you were alright, too. Carlisle and Esme, even though you haven't known each other for long, they were just as concerned as we were. And… so was Edward."

I looked at Emmett emotionlessly, prompting him to continue. "Look, he was just as clueless about the whole thing as we were. But opinions started to form, and some of us thought that you ran away with him."

I turned away, feeling humiliated, not daring to question who the suspicious ones were. Emmett shook his head. "But of course, we didn't think it for very long. Alice and I made sure that they knew you were coming back as soon as Alice dialed your number."

"But Carlisle and Esme… they wanted to maybe stick around a little longer, just until you came, to see if you were alright. Needless to say we took the opportunity to stall them."

My forehead creased into a frown. I was upset that I had made them concerned, but surprised and even guiltily pleased that they cared about me. I touched my head to the cool window again and kept it there, letting the coldness numb my suddenly aching head.

Jacob's face appeared in my mind, and he opened his mouth and whispered, Go, go now Bella. The past is in the past. And then he turned and ran away, off into the woods, but I tried to catch up, but I decided to stop, and the thing was I wanted to stop, I didn't even want to follow him, and instead of his name I called Edward's, and he didn't come, didn't come at all, until he appeared and whispered my name, but then ran away too, and then I lay on the wet ground, the brown crunchy leaves swirling around me as the wind blew—

"Bella, Bella wake up. We're here." I blinked my eyes open to reveal the house. I could see Rosalie getting into her BMW, with—to my surprise—Carlisle and Esme in tow. And there was Alice, talking animatedly to… Edward, who was leaning against his Volvo, arms crossed.

All parties immediately looked at the Jeep as we pulled in, and a lump appeared in my throat. Tears suddenly welled in my eyes, and I shut them furiously to keep them there. Emmett gently patted my shoulder, and got out of the car. I followed suit, but I knew I could've stayed in the Jeep all day if I wanted to.

Alice danced toward me, her eyes wide and serious. "Oh, Bella…" I stared at her wordlessly, wondering if she would continue, wondering if she would explain what was going on. At that moment, Emmett turned to wave at Rosalie as she pulled out of the driveway, honking as she disappeared out of sight.

Alice led us to Edward, whose eyes held a sort of misery and confusion. I folded my arms uncomfortably as he unfolded his own. "I beat up Jacob Black," Emmett said proudly. I couldn't help but slip a hysterical giggle through my lips. Alice and Edward looked from me to him, startled. Alice glanced at me, and I shrugged.

"You did?" Edward asked conversationally. "I thought Bella was…"

I shook my head immediately. "I wanted nothing more to do with him than receive a little clarification on some issues." I scolded myself for sounding so stupid. I usually spoke a little too formally when I was extremely nervous. I also had the habit of interrupting people when often; I didn't even know just what they were going to say…

"I think you two need to talk to each other," Alice piped in, her face serious, excitement in her eyes. Emmett nodded. I bit my lip nervously. Needless to say, I was scared. "Rosalie took Carlisle and Esme out for a quick brunch, so you should have time. Esme was only too happy to comply." Edward cursed under his breath.

"What's there to talk about?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Alice, you really freaked me out saying that we had to get home right away. I thought somebody was hurt." Alice shrugged, a sheepish smile on her face.

"H-Honestly, it's come across as a bit of a shock to know that you're leaving already, Edward. I'm sorry to hear that," I began after an awkward silence between all of us. Alice clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes as she started toward the house, Emmett following, throwing one last disbelieving glance my way. I stared down at the ground, my arms still crossed, scraping the gravel with my sneaker. Edward had his hands stuffed into his coat pockets.

"I-I don't know what else to say," I murmured, still not wanting to look at him. "I mean, we've been good friends, and I'm glad things have turned the way they have."

Edward stared at me, his green eyes still holding confusion. "You are? Because I'm not," he told me simply, shaking his head. I looked up at him, my heart beginning to beat wildly as I took in his hair, the shape of his jaw, the way he stared at me, the ghostly, heartbroken look I knew I had carried before.

"Why do you say that?" I asked him. Edward laughed a rueful, cold laugh. "Bella, do you think that I'm happy we've had to play our little game of cat and mouse? It's gone on longer than I can bear. And one of its solid foundations has been miscommunication; misunderstanding. Quite frankly, all of it has been killing me." I had never heard the strange tone he used.

"It hasn't exactly been easy for me, either," I said, my voice rising as his did. "It's been hard enough for me, having old wounds be closed and then reopened and then left exposed. And worse, it's been hard especially when I thought I was over it all, and ready, ready to be with someone again, and have those taken away from me because of the circumstances."

"I guess you're right; I really don't have anyone to blame but myself," Edward said, shaking his head. "Bella, I can't stand this anymore. I can't stand this game we've been playing."

"Edward, this just isn't the right time," I whispered. "And please, don't blame yourself. We've been through this—I can't be with you, I just can't."

"And why not?"

I felt like I was repeating the same conversation. Except this time this time, he hadn't left me broken, damaged for good. He had actually healed me, but exposed me to different types of emotions, ones I wasn't sure I liked.

"Because… you just broke up with Tanya, and I-I'm not ready."

"Bella, I don't think you see yourself clearly. You are ready. You have been ready for the longest time, and it's not fair to have made you wait as long as you did. I've seen the change in you, from someone who looked so lost, lonely, fragile to someone so strong, fearless, confident…"

I laughed. "You must be blind. I haven't seen that at all." But I was lying. I was losing this argument—I had even told Jacob myself that I had changed. I was no longer this fragile, broken girl who had appeared on the doorstep of the house recently vacated by my father. I had grown to love and trust and become myself again with all the people in it, but Edward, especially.

"Tanya was a mistake," Edward said, shaking his head. "I don't hate her. She's not a terrible person—on the contrary, she's very charming. We just weren't supposed to be together. And we weren't fooling anybody. It sure wasn't what I thought it would be. And I wasn't helping our relationship either, by being madly in love with you."

My heart clenched, my stomach tying up into knot after knot as I felt the breath being knocked out of me. Edward saying he loved me gave me the most exhilarating feeling, that adrenaline rush when I was doing something so out of character, yet I could still recognize myself.

"Then, then why did you stay with her as long as you did?" I asked him, my voice streaked with pain and tears. Everything hurt now—or was it joy? It was sick to be happy right now, happy that someone else's relationship had failed.

"Because, Bella, do you think I've been in many relationships?" Edward asked me, his voice struggling to stay calm while still trying to make me understand, and the desperation he had that I comprehend what he was saying. "And as I've said before, you're not the only one with a past. I don't want to be a monster. I don't want to leave someone for my own selfish desires. I didn't want to leave Tanya because I thought she loved me, I thought she needed me. I thought I loved her. I was so intent on being with her, trying to make things work because I thought it was what I wanted for a long time. I didn't think it was my right to just leave her. But obviously, things became clearer, and I realized…"

"It was you, Bella. It was always you."

I was crying now. There was no way to face it—Edward Cullen was here, right in front of me, professing everything he wanted for me, for us, and I could do nothing but try to fight it, hopelessly fight it. I still couldn't believe it, and the reality of it all brought me to my knees. Edward quickly crouched down to support me, murmuring in my ear, "Bella, from the moment I saw you, I knew there was something there. Sure, I didn't know it was love, but I knew we would be great friends."

"Stop," I whispered, my voice trembling still. I felt my wet eyelashes trying to blink back the tears. "Stop it, Edward, I—"

"What is it?" he asked, interrupting me. "Why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not afraid," I murmured, staring up at him, trying to control myself from the sob in my chest, the pain inflicted on each word I spoke. "I just, I don't know…"

"You don't need to fight it… I'm not going to force you into a relationship. I just have to get this out in the open so that we wouldn't have to know… what could've been…" Edward's voice trailed off as he heard my chest heave another sob, and the silence between us.

"Would you believe it," I said finally, and it hurt to speak, "That maybe, just maybe, I saw the connection between us too? But I can't just let myself fall into this kind of situation again, because you saw where it got me."

"Have you ever thought that I was different?" Edward replied. "That I'm not Jacob Black; that I would never lead you into that kind of situation. I would never hurt you, Bella, I fear too much of becoming a monster to do that."

"Stop it," I repeated, "Stop thinking that for even one second you could be a monster. You've been nothing but kind to me, and I don't deserve you."

Edward stared at me in disbelief. "You don't deserve me?" he asked, his tone disapproving. "On the contrary, Bella. It's the complete opposite."

"Tanya is the perfect girl for you," I said to him, no longer sobbing, but my eyelashes were still wet. I looked hopelessly into his eyes. "She's smart, pretty, sophisticated, poised, charming; she's everything a guy could want. Why did you buy her a ring if you weren't so committed? I saw you—I wouldn't have felt so much… so much pain if I hadn't been sure that day that you wanted to marry her."

Edward stared back at me, his face seeming to understand now. "I wasn't getting her an engagement ring. Remember when Esme told me she had a surprise for me? Well, she discovered my mother's ring in their parents' old attic. She was so excited to give it to me; and I was only too happy to receive it. I went to the jeweler's to have it restored. For a split second, I thought of giving it to Tanya. But I couldn't stop picturing you wearing it. It basically sealed the deal for me. I knew that I was hopelessly, madly, irreversibly in love with you."

"You're doing it again," I whispered as the tears fell from my eyes.

"What?"

"Making me cry. Making my heart melt into mush with all these things you're saying," I whispered. Edward laughed, pushing the hair out of my face. "Look, Bella, that night at the restaurant… I decided to take Tanya there so she wouldn't have an outrageous fit on me when we broke up. I was breaking up with her that night. And then I saw you with Mike Newton, and I felt violently ill, upset, angered at the thought of seeing you with him. Also, today, with Jacob… I was going to explain everything to you, but when I found that he was in town, I thought you were too far gone now… and so I decided to go back to Chicago."

"It was a pity date."

"It didn't seem that way."

"Edward, don't forget that it wasn't one-sided love. Seeing you with Tanya tore me up inside more than I thought was possible. I am still in love with you, Edward Cullen." And that was it. He leaned over and kissed me, and I can safely say now that it was the best kiss of the seventeen—almost eighteen—years that I've lived. Better than any times Jacob had kissed me—the kiss with Edward sent my head spinning, my heart thumping, my physical being falling

Falling

Falling

I broke away from him, murmuring "I kind of knew I was ready. After the confrontation with Jacob, I knew deep down that I could move on, and it was kind of a final salute, you know?" Edward laughed, pressing his lips against mine one more time before saying, "You're mine, Bella Swan. After a whole summer of ups and downs…"

I coughed loudly. "My days of being owned are over." Edward froze at his mistake, and I laughed. "But we're together now. Finally." Edward stood up, offering me his hand, and I stood, holding still as he leaned in to kiss me one more time. But I couldn't help myself—I wrapped my arms around him and threw myself into the kiss, and he broke into laughter.

"Thanks for killing the mood," I said, pretending to be hurt.

"You're welcome."

The cloud thundered once again, and I knew, in moments, we would be soaked. But there was always a bit of time before the rain to see the lightning, to hear the thunder. It was so metaphoric, how quickly things could happen. All the pieces for Edward and I had fallen into place so easily, it was so easy to forgive each other. But that part of me had been restored again, I could use it properly, and I could easily lend my trust to Edward, who I knew would do everything in his power not to hurt me. And how did I know? We build that trust, it wasn't over nothing. Although through the circumstances, our relationships, everything, we already had that starting friendship, that starting foundation.

"Edward," I whispered into his ear, "Why me, why me out of all the other girls who have tried to get a date with you?"

"Because," Edward sighed, as if he had made his point painfully clear before, "You've confused me, you've been a mystery, and you've always been so unpredictable. You're imperfectly perfect for me, Isabella Swan."

"Please don't leave," I said to him, looking back down at our intertwined hands. "Not so soon. Not already."

Edward ran a hand through his hair. "Of course not. I'm sure Carlisle and Esme will understand…"

I wrapped my arms around his neck. I just couldn't stand to be away from him now. I always had to be closer, closer than the last movement. I had already fallen, and here I was, caught but the person that taught me to jump, just fall.

And there was the person that told me to fall. Alice was standing on the porch, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "Guys, come inside," she called out to us, her voice undeniably shaky. "It's going to rain any minute now." I grinned at her. I had so much to be thankful for and so many people to be thankful for—I would forever be in their debt.

Taking one hand and wrapping the other around my waist, we walked back to the house. The rain started to fall for real now. And it was, in my opinion, just like a curtain falling to signal the next act. The summer was already ending, but for me, the real story was just beginning.

-

I'm kind of against putting an author's note here, but I just wanted to let you all know I'll be releasing my newest fic sometime this month. I'm thinking of releasing the Vampire one than the All-Human one. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)