Huge thanks to Sherry and Paige for helping me with this story every step of the way!

"Keep you in the dark you know they all pretend

Keep you in the dark and so it all began

Send in your skeletons

Sing as their bones go marching in again

They need you buried deep

The secrets that you keep are at the ready

Are you ready

I'm finished making sense."

-Foo Fighters-

EPOV:

Work is slowing down now that October is reaching its close and the air is getting colder. I love this time of year. I love the way the cold air feels as it hits my lungs, it is so cleansing after smoking for so long. Thankfully, the sun isn't as painfully hot as it once was, which makes working outdoors for hours at a time less of a shit-show.

"Hey, do you want to grab a bite after work?" Emmett jovially asks.

I know that they usually hit up a nearby pub after work. They sit in the restaurant, far removed from the bar, but the atmosphere alone isn't good for me. It's so fucking difficult, finding a place where I feel safe from temptation. With my problem, it could cause me to become an outcast, especially being a man, with a job like mine.

"Naw, man. I actually have plans with my girlfriend after this."

Emmett's face transforms into a bright smile and he gives me a firm pat on the back. "Bella's your girlfriend now? Why didn't you mention that sooner? That's great man!"

I shrug my shoulders, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. I didn't mention my new relationship because I didn't want to speak too soon and mess it all up. I didn't want to jinx things.

"It's still new. Things are going pretty good so far."

"That's so great. With the way, you always talked about her, I knew things would get more serious eventually."

I talked about her all of the time? Should this really be a shock?

"Yeah, dude. You did," Emmett chuckles, letting me know that I asked that shit out loud. "Well, have fun tonight. Maybe you and I can get together later this week?"

I nod my head and begin to pack my stuff up. Emmett always makes a point to take me somewhere that good for me to go. I don't like having to always put him out like that. Maybe Dr. Howell was right, maybe a few AA meetings would be good for me. I've never been addicted to alcohol, but now that I'm sober, I realize my problem was worse than I thought. Quitting never gave me the shakes and I never flipped my lid on someone, but I still crave alcohol constantly. If it wasn't for my beautiful and supporting girlfriend-who I doubt I deserve-and Charlie, I doubt I would be as successful as I am now.

I consider the meetings on the drive home. I think it would be a good thing to talk about with Bella. She always gives the best advice and I know she will be supportive no matter what. The thought of the meetings used to make me feel weak, like if I went to the meetings all my problems would instantly be real. If I went to the meetings I would have to admit to my problems and the thought of that still makes me sick.

When I make it back home, Bella can see I'm exhausted, physically and mentally.

"Sweetheart," she says as she pulls me into a hug, "We don't have to go out tonight, I think that Charlie and I will be just fine eating in."

I give her a small smile, grateful that she knows me so well this early in our relationship. "That sounds good," I say, appreciatively.

"We just need to run to the store first," Bella says as she takes a quick look back at Charlie, who is playing on the carpet. "Do you guys want to stay here? Or we can all go to the store together."

As a family.

"We can all go," I say with a smile. "Just let me change really quick."

Bella's gaze follows me as I walk toward my bedroom, and I wonder how she would react if I changed in front of her. I leave the door to my bedroom open, and stand where I know she could see me if she wanted to, and strip. I don't look at her, because I don't want to be too obvious, but I can feel her sneaking glance. Sometimes, you just know.

I take my time changing, just to give my shy girlfriend a little show, but when I hear my son start crying I speed it up. He isn't bad when I'm gone, but if he knows I'm in the room, he'll cry if I don't give him enough attention. I pull a shirt over my head and jog into the living room to pull him off the floor. Bella blushes as soon as I meet her gaze. Yep, she was watching me change.

"You ready to go?" I ask, as if I hadn't stripped in front of her on purpose.

She gives me a cute smile and a nod. She is still blushing!I can't help the cocky grin that is on my face as we make our way to my car. The drive to Target is short and Charlie spends its duration, loudly babbling in his carseat. I want to read to him more, teach him a few new words. Although, I do love hearing the one word he knows.

"Okay, we'll be quick, I promise." Bella assures me as we walk past lines of cars to the store's entrance.

I give her a knowing smile. Although she hates shopping, I know how girls are when it comes to this place. I went with Bella once, while we were still just friends, and we went to buy taco ingredients and ended up staying for over an hour. If I wasn't so into her, I would have said something. It was just too cute to watch her get so excited about deals on fabric softener.

Bella insists that we take a "lap around the store," and I find that I'm too in love with her to deny her anything. However, thirty minutes in the women's clothing section is where I have to draw the line. Charlie is entertained though, reaching out to touch each and every piece of clothing to feel the fabric.

"Do you mind if I take him to the toy section?" I ask, not wanting to show how bored I am.

She looks up at me from the stack of clothing in her hands. "That's fine, I have to try this stuff on anyway. Just call me if you get lost."

I bend down to give her a quick kiss, but like always, as soon as her lips move against mine, I find it hard to pull away. We kiss longer than what is appropriate for a public setting and I'm lost in my pleasure until I hear my very loud son.

"Da da," he says as he pulls on my shirt to get my attention. "Da da!"

I finally pull away from Bella and look down at my distraught son, who is now yanking on my shirt. "Da da!" He reaches up for me and I give him a small kiss on the forehead, which immediately appeases him.

"We'll be back soon," I say, as I return my attention to my son.

As I leave the clothing section, I notice all the women staring at me. I wonder if it due to the fact I practically mauled my girlfriend in the middle of the store. But the staring doesn't stop as I leave the section, it continues as I make my way down the aisles until I reach the toy section. There are a few women in particular who are staring at me and whispering to each other, with their carts parked in the middle of the aisle. They are attractive in a way, and would look better if their faces hadn't been so surgically enhanced. That shit always freaks me out. I've always liked more natural looking women.

"That's such a cute baby," says a blonde with the most artificial face out of her entire group. "He looks so much like you," she flirts. "Such a handsome little boy."

"Thanks," I comment, taken off guard.

"Do you need help finding anything? My friends and I can show you around if you like?"

I give her a sheepish smile, looking around in hopes that my girlfriend would choose this moment to show up. "I'm good actually. I'm just taking my son to the toy section while my girlfriend shops."

I have a girlfriend, so fuck off,is what my tone is saying, but apparently that isn't obvious to this chick.

"Well, your girlfriend shouldn't leave a guy like you alone for too long."

"Yeah," I say curtly. "Well...it was nice talking to you," I lie, before continuing to the toy section.

"We'll be right here, baby!" one of her friends yells in my direction.

What the hell was that?I shake the unpleasant thoughts those women conjure, from my head and focus on Charlie, who is kicking in my arms as soon as he sees the toys. I take a moment to enjoy the Star Warsaction figures and Lego sets. I wonder if it would be considered way to geeky for me to buy a Millennium Falcon Lego set for myself. I know having a bunch of Legos lying around wouldn't be safe for Charlie, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. I move on to the toys I know are safe for his age.

We past a line of different rattles and bathroom toys, until we reach a mountain of stuffed animals. Charlie lets out a squeal as soon as he sees a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal that is bigger than he is. He reaches for it and strings together a bunch of syllables. It must be his way of saying, "Give me, daddy! Give me!"

I pull the toy from the shelf and hold onto it, since it's too big for my son to wrap his arms around. I pull a few bath toys from the shelf and head to the children's book section. There are a few board books I remember from my childhood which I know he will like and also a few titles that are a bit more mature, but I know he will love. I grab The Giving Tree,one of my old favorites, and a few Dr. Seuss titles. I wish I had grabbed a basket or something.Charlie stares at the large green book in my hands and points, as if to ask, "What's that, daddy?"

"This is your daddy's favorite book," I tell him, and it's true. This was one of Seth's favorites, as well as mine.

Charlie pulls at the corner of the book cover, trying to open it. He is so curious and I know he wants me to read to him. I place the toys in my hand on a shelf, and open the book with my free hand, positioning Charlie so he can see the pages from his spot in my arms. But, as soon as I begin the story, his large eyes are on me.

"Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy. And every day the boy would come. And he would gather her leaves. And make them into crowns and play king of the forest."

Charlie gives me a toothless smile and wiggles in my arms. I point toward the artwork of the little boy with a crown of leaves and Charlie giggles, kicking his legs about in my arms, as he usually does when he is excited about something.

"He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide and go seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree very much. And the tree was happy."

I hear the sound of someone approaching, and stop my story. I look up, expecting to find Bella, but instead I find a woman who I've never seen before. She is beautiful, with copper colored hair and green eyes. Her face has a few wrinkles and I would guess she was in her early forties. She seems familiar, but I don't know why.

"Sorry to interrupt," she quickly apologizes. "I just heard the story and got distracted," she admits with a girlish laugh.

She takes a step closer and I don't move back. The woman looks down at Charlie and her attractive face looks troubled all of a sudden.

"Is something wrong?" I ask, confused.

She shakes her head and doesn't look at me. "No, it's nothing. How old is he?"

"He'll be a year old in December."

She nods her head and continues to stare at my son. Before I can question her about what she is doing, she speaks again.

"He just reminds me of my little boy when he was a baby. He looked just like that," she smiles at the memory. "A full head of hair and large, bright, eyes. That book you were reading...I used to read that to my son all the time when he was a newborn. It was my absolute favorite."

Bella comes down the aisle with a pile of clothing in her cart. She gives the woman next to me a kind smile and introduces herself. The woman looks embarrassed and backs away from Charlie and me. She apologizes to us, before grabbing her cart and walking away.

Bella looks confused as she helps me place the toys and books in her cart. "Who was that woman?"

I'm baffled, although she seems familiar, I can't seem to place her. "I have no idea."

A/N: Thoughts? Please review!

Song- "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters.