Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish it were different, none of these characters belong to me. I only own the plot.

Chapter twenty-one

Esme's pov

Edward threw himself into his school work from that point on. The four weeks that he had been grounded, he suffered in silence. He didn't complain or asked us to remove the punishment, but he didn't talk much about anything else either.

When I'd ask him how school was he was always polite but short in his responses. About two weeks after he had gotten a car to replace the one he wrecked, he came home looking more distraught than ever.

"Edward, what's wrong?" I asked him as soon as I saw the look in his eyes.

"Nothing, I'll be upstairs."

He hurried up to his room before I could stop him. An uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach made me wait for Alice to come home from her study date with a girl named Maggy. She came dancing in not much later, but there was something off about Alice too.

"Alice, what happened in school today? Edward was completely out of it and you seem to be a bit off as well."

She silently slid into a chair at the kitchen table and started fidgeting with her sleeve. After a few minutes of tense silence she drew a deep breath and asked me to come sit with her.

"Mom, there are a few girls that came to school with us that Edward knows from his past. They are three sisters and they went to school with Edward in Phoenix. The eldest, Tanya, is a real bitch. She keeps spreading around these stories about her and Edward, while Edward insists they aren't true. It's been going on ever since her first day and because some of the girls in school as jealous, they do the same thing. But Edward never even talks to any girls in school. He's just as closed off as he is here."

She paused, clearly debating whether she should continue or not.

"One of Tanya's sisters, I think her name is Kate, she's a year younger than us. She approached Edward at lunch today. She apologized for Tanya. She said that he knew what she was like and it seemed that ever since she asked her dad to move away from Phoenix things had gotten worse. Edward asked her if Tanya had specifically asked to move them to Seattle and Kate confirmed it."

"Edward pulled her out into the hall to talk to her some more, but when he came back his eyes were all wrong. There was something really scary in them and then Tanya came up to the table and asked if he ever heard something from 'that slut Bella'. He completely flew off the handle. He screamed at her never to mention this girl again and to stay the hell away from him. He even said that, even though he would never hit a woman, she was the one girl in the world that tempted him to do so. She just smirked and told him she liked riling him up and that it made him so much more forceful in bed."

"Emmett had to restrain him from knocking her out cold. Edward just left school and I guess he drove around long enough to calm down. He was really freaked out when Tanya mentioned that girl though. Do you think he loved her?"

I wrung my hands together. I had heard the girl's name before, but neither Edward nor any other member of my family knew about this and I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to divulge the information.

"I don't know Alice. I just hope that in time Edward will trust us enough to tell us what is so special about this Bella."

Alice nodded and quietly walked out of the kitchen. She was perceptive and had an acute sense of things to come, but in her demeanour I saw that she didn't believe that Edward would never volunteer anything on the subject. I hated to do so, but I was forced to agree with her. Edward was a private person and he would certainly not tell us anything about his past as long as he wasn't forced to by dire circumstances.

Time passed rather quickly after that. The rest of that first school year in Seattle, Edward didn't do much more than go to school, come home and do his homework and sometimes play the piano. He wasn't very proficient, but I could hear he had, at some point in his past, taken lessons.

I eventually asked him if he wanted to take lessons again and his acceptance was the first small step in getting a little closer to him. He started taking lessons a few months before the summer holidays and he improved quickly.

He played for hours after he got home, sometimes doing simple modern songs, sometimes playing heavy classical tunes. One constant though, was the glum mood of the music he played.

Over the summer something changed though. Emmett was preparing to go to college at UW and Edward joined him on the few trips he made up there to get his dorm room settled. He apparently met some girl there, who was going to e a freshman in college along with Emmett.

Edward didn't tell me about her, Emmett did. He told me he had noticed Edward chatting her up and during their second trip to UW, he had caught her and Edward making out. I didn't know how serious he became with the girl, but he did make a few trips to see her during his break. We ever met the girl and after a few weeks he didn't go see her again.

I tried talking to him about it, but he just told me it was just some girl he'd kissed, but it wasn't anything serious. It wasn't until Emmett came home for the weekend one day that we found out that the girl had wanted to go on a date instead of make out all the time and Edward had refused. He had told her he didn't do dates. She had begged Emmett to put in a good word for her, but Emmett was wise enough to stay out of it.

Emmett was convinced by that one encounter, that other rumours about Edward were true. So being a much of a love 'em and leave 'em type as he made Edward out to be, he started listing these rumours as true accounts and he made up his mind that Edward was a womaniser.

Edward never contested it, but seeing as how he never spent much time away from the house apart form those few weeks in the summer, I could hardly believe he was that kind of boy.

Unfortunately Edward proved me wrong. He was back in school for his senior year for about three months, when a girl showed up on our doorstep unannounced.

"Hello, dear. What can I do for you?"

"I was looking for Edward."

"Is he expecting you?"

"I don't think he is, but he'll want to see me"

"Come in and sit down. If you tell me your name I will go get him."

"It's Becky."

"Okay, Becky. Just wait here and I will go and get him."

She nodded and sat down on one of the sofa's. She radiated an arrogance that was very unattractive, but I decided not to think too much about it.

"Edward, there is someone downstairs to see you."

He looked up from his sheet music with an angry scowl. "Who?" he asked curtly.

"Don't take that tone with me, Edward. It's a girl named Becky. She said you'd want to see her."

"Well, she's wrong. I don't want to see her. Can you ask her to leave?"

"Not a chance young man. I am not a messenger service. You want the girl to leave, you go tell her yourself."

He grumbled under his breath before he shot up from his piano bench and darted down the stairs. I followed behind him. I wasn't going to listen to the conversation, but when I heard Becky's words I stood frozen in the hallway.

"Come on, Edward. We had fun. I think you were satisfied with my performance, were you not?"

"That's not it, Becky. It's been fun these past few weeks, but that's all it was. Fun. Yeah you satisfied my physical needs, but I'm not looking for a girlfriend."

"No," she spat. "You just want to keep me on the side to use in the back of your car when you're antsy. Well, screw you, Edward. I want a relationship, I want to hold your hand in school and sit with you at lunch where everyone can see us together."

"Sorry, Becky. You know I won't do that. It's been nice knowing you, but please do not humiliate yourself any further. It's really not becoming."

My heart clenched at his harsh words and his distant tone. I had never expected to hear things like this from Edward. Becky might not have been the kind of girl I hoped to see him with, but his behaviour towards her was so bad that I actually felt sorry for her.

I heard them walking to the door and I quickly darted into the den. I really didn't feel like getting caught overhearing that.

I tried talking to Edward a few times about Becky and what I had overheard, but he would always brush me off. We were getting closer on all fronts, but not where it concerned girls. I eventually gave up.

Edward went back to his previous routine of working hard and his music and he managed to graduate early. He enrolled in a few courses at UW to hold him over to the new school year and it soon became evident that he wanted to major in music, which sparked a major confrontation between Carlisle and Edward.

"Edward, music is nice as a minor, but as a major you will limit yourself so much. You have the intelligence to do so much more!"

"Like what?" Edward spat. "Pre-med? Law? What? What will be good enough?"

"Don't you take that tone with me. We have been nothing but supportive and we just want you to succeed in life."

"What if I want to succeed in music? I don't want some high end job. I want to spend my time with my music as much as I can. I can teach, or get my masters in composing. It's not like I expect to live some fairy tale life of becoming famous and rich."

"But you are so smart. Why won't you use that intellect?"

"I am using it so I can finish early and become self-sufficient as soon as I can."

"Is that what this is about? The fastest way to get away from us. I thought you liked it here?"

"That's not it at all! I admit that was how I felt when we first moved here. I just wanted to bide my time until I could take care of myself, but now it is more a need to prove to myself that I have learned enough from you and Esme to live on my own. To take responsibility for my own life. Don't you want me to be independent, because I thought independence is what you both were teaching me."

Carlisle opened his mouth to speak, but I placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Edward you're right. We want you to be able to take care of yourself, but we also want what's best for you. You think that music as a major is what's best for you, because it's something you love, but please be reasonable and pick a minor that will serve as a basis for a more solid study. Just in case you need the back-up."

Carlisle clenched his jaw, but managed to keep his expression in check. He wanted Edward to take pre-med, because he and I both knew he could become a wonderful doctor. I knew from personal experience that pushing just didn't work. My parents had wanted me to take law so I could one day take over my father's law firm, seeing as my younger sister wasn't going to college, because she was pregnant. But I refused. I studied to become an interior decorator, but the fights that came beforehand created such a big rupture that I never spoke to my parents again after I left for college.

My parents never attempted to contact me. I heard years later that my baby-sister had died during childbirth. They didn't even give me the chance to say goodbye to her or see my niece, because they were still peeved about my choices.

So that was why I didn't want to push Edward in a direction he didn't want. Nothing in the world was worth losing your kid over. Especially when you can salvage the relationship by being compliant and willing to compromise.

Edward had reluctantly agreed to take Biology as a minor so he could switch to pre-med should he want or need to and then quickly excused himself so he could work on another composition. When he was upstairs, Carlisle turned on me.

"How could you let him do that?"

"Calm down."

"No, I won't. The kid managed to graduate early because he's incredibly intelligent and you are willing to let him squander that mind on a free-bird course like music?"

"Now, Carlisle, there is no need to sound so condescending. You have heard him play, he his a brilliant musician and music is by no means a free-bird course. Have you read the information on all required subjects and the advised study hours. If he's going to do this, it will take up most of his time. He wouldn't go for such a heavy load if he weren't passionate about it. Do you think he would sacrifice that much time to become a doctor? Think about what you're doing. Do you want to force him out of our lives just by demanding what education he chooses?"

Carlisle huffed. "You're not seeing things clearly, Esme. You're babying the boy."

Carlisle and I didn't really speak to each other for two days, the exact time it took for him to realize how stubborn he was being and for Edward to start feeling so guilty he wanted to give in to Carlisle's demands. We eventually settled on the compromise I had suggested two days prior.

When Edward set off to UW in the fall, where he had managed to get a decent single dorm room, Emmett ran into some major drama. He had met a girl at the beginning of the summer. Her name was Zafrina and she was originally from Brazil. She and Emmett had really hit it off and they rushed into a very intense relationship.

None of us, including Edward, felt it was a good idea, but Emmett had agreed to move to an off-campus apartment with her and there was nothing any of us could do to stop him. It was week into the new year when Emmett was standing on our doorstep, bags in hand, transfer paper to Phoenix in his back pocket.

Apparently Zafrina had been using Emmett. He had wanted to surprise her two days before and came home early only to find her in bed with two other men. The boys he used to share a dorm room with.

It was messy and Emmett was hurt badly, but he quickly moved out to Phoenix to give himself some space and only weeks after he called home to tell us he met Rosalie.

"Mom, I met the perfect girl."

I was a bit wary, but wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Really? That's wonderful, Emmett. What's her name?"

"Rosalie Hale. She's absolutely gorgeous and a real spitfire. She studies engineering and knows how to throw one hell of a punch, I had to learn that the hard way." he chuckled as he said it, making me smile in the process.

"She sounds like she's the girl you've been looking for, honey."

"She is, mom. Once I saw her I knew I haven't really loved Zafrina. She might be the one for me, imagine that."

"Yes, indeed. Imagine that. Doesn't she have a sister we could set Edward up with. He might need someone like that."

"Nah, she has a half-brother. He's really cool, but I don't think Edward swings that way. She does have a cousin who could be good for him. Although, Rosalie is fiercely protective of the little squirt. I doubt she'd let my brother near him."

I laughed light-heartedly. The girl sounded like the perfect fit for Emmett. He needed someone who could keep him in line.

"Well, Emmett be sure to bring her with you during the holidays and please let her brother and cousin know they are more than welcome to join her."

"I'll let them know, but I think Izzy would rather stay home with her daughter over the holidays."

"Oh my, Rosalie has a child?"

"No, her cousin. It's a sad story, really. She fell in love with this boy. They spent one night together and then he got sent away. She never knew what happened to him, but she still hopes she'll find him someday. It's a shame that she's still waiting for him, though. She's a real beauty and smart as hell too. She'd be able to straighten out Edward."

"Well, try to convince her to take my invitation and add her daughter if that's what it takes."

"I'll ask. I have to go mom, I've got a paper to finish."

"Fine sweetheart. Give Rosalie my best and I'll talk to you later."

"Bye mom."

July 26th 2007

Bpov

"It's a shame you never took the offer," Esme said quietly.

"I know. I've been thinking the same thing. We had other chances but never met, so I guess it wasn't meant to happen sooner," I stated just as quietly.

"I guess you are right. But enough with the glum memories. Let's go see what Emma is up to and bring her those cookies I promised her."

I laughed at Esme's blunt change of subject to lighten the mood and followed her out of the kitchen to find my daughter in her newly acquired playroom.

A/N: So, a little more of Edward's history explained. Of course the only one to rightfully explain it all, is Edward himself. He will get to it in one of the chapters that are coming up as will Bella. They of course have six years to talk about.

Next chapter we find out what Tanya did exactly to keep our two heroes apart, so stay tuned for more ;)