Edward's Anatomy

by drtammy1511

"Edward's Anatomy" takes place 5 years after New Moon. Edward never came back, and Bella moved on, marrying Jacob. Now she has been accepted to medical school. What will transpire when she discovers that 2 "people" from her past will be in her class? How will her life be forever altered? (Be pre-warned: there is some non-cannon pairing before the promised HEA.)

25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns it all.

Chapter 25 – Fingers and Toes

The second worse school time in my life started that Wednesday morning. Our family went to gym. The locker room went silent when Alice, Rosalie, and I entered. We quickly changed into our gym clothes and gathered on the floor for yet another round of, you guessed it, dodge ball. Emmett decided to make things interesting. He gave Coach Mitchell a one hundred dollar bill to give to the last person standing. I really didn't want to play; I didn't feel like playing; I so wasn't in the mood to play a silly child's game like dodgeball when my husband had just left me, but Emmett's enthusiasm was contagious. We all played an above average human level game until all of the humans were out, then we picked up the pace of the game. There were five of us in the game, so today, Coach Mitchell gave us each a ball. There were balls flying from all directions. Rosalie was the first to get out by a combination of throws by Jasper, Alice, and me. She could have avoided two of the balls, but the third one caught her in the middle of her leap to the left. She reluctantly took a seat on the bench. Coach Mitchell removed one of the balls from play, keeping it one ball per player. Emmett was our next target, and we caught him with exactly the same maneuver. Coach Mitchell removed another ball from play, leaving us with only three balls. Alice and I joined together to put out Jasper, but try as we might, we never could entrap him using only two balls. If we went high and low, he went to the side. If we went high and to the side, he dropped low. If we went low and to the side, he jumped. He was able to thwart our every move. He really was an amazing athlete. I was oh, so proud of him, and I know that Alice was too. By the time that Coach Mitchell called and end to the game, most of the people in the gym were cheering him on. Coach Mitchell took the one hundred dollar bill and handed it to Jasper. Alice went up to him and gave him a big hug. Then we all went into the locker rooms to change again.

Alice and I went to our lockers and got our books for the morning. Other than the teachers asking us where Edward was, the classes went by fine. We did our homework during class when possible, and took notes in the other classes when we needed to. We sat together at lunch, and the others took special care to keep my spirits lifted. When we went to English II, the assignment on the board was to write a fictional short story about a hero/heroine who had special powers. I smiled and looked at Alice. In vampire volume I asked if her heroine would be able to see the future. She answered that she would indeed and asked me if my heroine would be able to shield herself from flying objects. I told her that I thought that I would write instead about a hero who could read minds. She laughed and told me that she thought that it was a great idea and that she was going to change to a hero who was an empath. I laughed and told her that I thought that it was a wonderful idea.

When Kurt walked into the room, he moved his desk as far away from mine as he could get it. I turned around in my seat and looked into his eyes. "So, Kurt, you aren't going to bother me today?"

"No, Bella. I have no intention to disturb you today," he said, lowering his head and refusing to look me in the eyes. I grinned at him.

I turned back around in my desk and started writing my short story. I finished writing it with fifteen minutes left in the class. I proofed it and changed a couple of sentences around to make it flow better, and I turned it in before class was over. Alice turned hers in right after I turned mine in. Mrs. Willis started reading them before we left the room, and she laughed out loud. I wasn't sure which one of ours she was reading, but I was sure that the powers that we had picked were pretty original. After all, most of the time people think of powers, they think of throwing fireballs or slinging spider webs or some such superpowers.

The rest of the day was completely normal. We left the school campus as usual and made it home in good time. I was hoping beyond hope that Edward had returned home in my absence. I was crushed when I ran upstairs to find our room empty, the way that I'd left it. There was no Edward. I closed the door and slid down to the floor, just sitting there, absorbed in my own thoughts. I was thinking of my Edward. Where was he? What was he thinking? Would he be coming back? I didn't move until the next morning when Alice knocked on my door.

"Are you going to get ready for school?" she asked. I got up from the floor and opened the door. She stepped into the room. "You haven't moved from that spot since we got home yesterday, have you?" I shook my head. "Bella, you have to go on with your life. You can't just give up. You have to keep living."

"I have no life without Edward. He was the reason that I chose to make this change and to live for eternity."

"Bella, none of the rest of us had the choice that you had. We have all had to learn to live regardless of what hand we were dealt. We haven't all had the loves of our lives with us every day. You have been blessed that you have had Edward the amount of time that you have had him, but you are not guaranteed to have him for all of eternity. Fate could deal you a rotten blow, even worse than the one that you have dealt yourself. Regardless, you have to live everyday. You can't feel sorry for yourself and quit living. Life doesn't work that way, vampire or not."

She had given me a lot to think about. I knew that what she said was right. Edward had lived alone from 1918 until he met me. Who was I to think that I had the right to curl up and wither away just because Edward had decided to go away for a month. I went into the closet and changed my clothes. I went downstairs and decided to make the best of the days until he came back. School was a typical day that ended without problem. We had several exams the next day, but none that we would have to study for. That was one wonderful characteristic that I had never heard about being a vampire that I was excited to discover, the photographic vampire memory.

I studied my Spanish with Alice and Jasper after school, and I was progressing rather well if I do say so myself. I could hold my own with simple conversations. They started picking a topic and asking me questions about the topic. I answered them the best that I could, and then we would have a conversation about that topic.

When Friday morning rolled around, I was surprised to hear my cell phone ring with Edward's ring tone. I answered it immediately. "Hello, Edward. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. The peace and quiet is nice. I was calling to find out how you are."

"I had a talk with Alice yesterday. She isn't letting me wallow in my misery. She reminded me that I'm the one who chose to be changed. Just because you aren't here with me isn't reason to close down, according to her. She just doesn't understand that the reason that I changed was to be with you forever, though."

"Don't do that, Bella."

"Do what, Edward?"

"Try to lay a guilt trip on me for leaving. I know full well that you intended for the two of us to be together for an eternity. I am not the one who messed that up, Bella. Twice, Bella. Twice. I thought that we had worked things out, and on the same day that you promised me that you would never.... Oh, never mind. I didn't call you to rehash this all over. I just wanted to hear your voice. Good bye, Bella." He hung up the phone.

I had half a mind to hit redial, but I instinctively knew that he wouldn't answer if I did call, so I hung up the phone and left Jasper and Alice's room and walked back to our room. I shut the door and leaned back against it. I went into the bathroom and took a long hot shower, then I came out and dressed in an Alice approved outfit for school. I met the others downstairs, keeping my eyes downcast, not wanting to talk to anyone about the phone call. I just wanted to be left alone with my thoughts. They respected my wishes, and nobody spoke to me until we got to school.

We went to gym, and the girls and I changed into our gym clothes. Today, however, instead of playing dodgeball, Coach Mitchell had us all sit in the bleachers. He explained that twice a year, we were supposed to have fitness testing done. It would be comprised of sit-ups, followed by push-ups, followed by a one and a half mile run. All of the coaches were in the gym and were going to help observe the testing. We were to pair off into boy-boy and girl-girl teams. Jasper and Emmett paired off, and Alice and Rosalie paired off. That left me alone to find a human to pair with. It wasn't long before a human that was in all of our classes with us came up to me and offered to be my partner. She said that her name was Summer, and that she really didn't have any friends who would pair with her. I told her that it would be fine, and when Coach Mitchell told all of the guys to go to the floor, that they would be going first, Emmett and Jasper joined them. When he blew that whistle, Emmett began his sit-ups. Jasper was counting for him. When the whistle blew again, the coaches came around again to record the number that the guys had done, and when Jasper told him that Emmett had done 125, he was astonished.

"Did he really, or did you over count?"

"Are you accusing me of being a lier? I do not lie, sir," Jasper said with indignation in his voice.

"Okay, then, Emmett Cullen, 125."

Coach Mitchell then told the guys to switch places. He stood by Emmett and Jasper. Jasper started when Coach blew the whistle. Emmett counted. When Coach blew the whistle to stop them, he asked Emmett how many Jasper had done. Emmett told him that Jasper had done 142. Coach Mitchell was stunned. He had just sat there and watched Jasper do them, and he had seen with his own eyes that Jasper was blowing the others in the room away. When all of the scores had been recorded, Coach Mitchell told them to switch positions and get ready for the push-ups. Jasper was counting for Emmett, and Coach Mitchell was standing by them. They began when he blew the whistle, and stopped when he blew it for the second time. Per Jasper, Emmett had done 151 push-ups. Coach Mitchell just stood there with his mouth opened. He called one of the assistants over and told him to count along with Emmett when Jasper did his push-ups. They again started with the first whistle, and they stopped with the second. Emmett told Coach Mitchell that Jasper did 138 push-ups, and the assistant confirmed it. They were both stunned. The next highest score was 90 for the sit-ups and 78 for the push-ups.

They allowed the guys to go into the stands and told the girls to take the floor. Summer and I took positions next to Alice and Rosalie. We did the same as the guys. Alice's sit-ups were 120, Rosalie's were 110, and mine were 118. Summer did 30. When we changed to push-ups, Alice scored 78, Rosalie did 58, and I did 90. Summer did 10. Again, we were scrupulously watched. When we were given a ten minute rest, we were all led onto the running track outside. We were told the number of laps that we were to make, and the whistle started the run. The five of us stayed together for the first of the three laps, soon outdistancing all of the rest of the class. Then Alice told us that the boys should be able to run faster than we could, so Alice, Rosalie, and I backed off of the pace just a little bit. We continued to stay together as a group, however. We easily lapped some of the stragglers during the second lap, and by the third lap, we had lapped the entire class. When we crossed the finish line for the third time, one of the coaches hit a stop watch and called out a time. Another coach wrote down the time and handed it to us. We then walked to another coach who took our time and recorded it into his book.

Then instead of sitting down and watching the others take the rest of the time to finish their laps, I started running again. I loved to run since I'd been changed. I was no longer the clumsy teenager that I used to be. I was a graceful runner, and it felt good to have the wind in my hair. I wanted some time to think about what Edward had said this morning, without my siblings invading my thinking time, so I ran. I caught up with the group and passed them again. I just kept going, for the fourth lap, and the fifth, and the sixth. When I'd started the seventh, Emmett joined me.

"Thinking about Edward's call?" he asked, quietly.

"Yeah, I was."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No, not really."

"You do realize that you have started your seventh lap, and you aren't breathing heavily."

"No, I guess that I didn't."

"Enough of the class has finished that they are watching you pretty closely now. It is probably time that you called it quits."

"Okay. No problem." I quit running and started walking across the track to where the rest of my family was stretched out in the grass surrounding the track. When I walked up, I pretended to be breathing heavily, but not panting. I sat down beside Alice.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Hunky dory," I replied.

Coach Mitchell blew his whistle and told everyone to go inside and change. We made our way back to the locker rooms, and I changed into my clothes for school. Before I was completely changed, the bell rang. We had to hurry, and we were almost late for our next class. We had a test in basically all of our classes that day. Alice and I took them without any problem. We were sure that we scored perfectly on each of them. When the day was over, Emmett drove us home to what I knew was going to be one of the longest weekends on record.

On the drive home, I could tell that Alice had a vision. Jasper took her hand into his, and when she came out of it, she refused to tell us what she had seen. She just looked at me with sorrow in her eyes. "Alice, out with it. I know by the way that you're acting that your vision has something to do with Edward. Tell me, please," I begged.

"No, Bella, what gives you that idea?" Alice asked me, refusing to look me in the eyes.

"Because you won't look at me for starters. Because you have this pitying look on your face. Come on Alice. I know that you're lying, and you know what kind of heartache lying gets us into. Tell me the truth, Alice."

"Bella, Okay, yes. Edward has made a decision. He is going to see Tanya."

I felt as if my heart had dropped right out of my body. I hadn't met Tanya, yet, but I so knew who she was. She was a succubus who had wanted to get her nails into Edward for the past 100 years. She was in my opinion an evil vampire who didn't care who she hurt as long as she got her claws into his pants. He knew this, and he had done everything in his power to avoid her since he had been in love with me. As far as I knew, he hadn't even seen her since right after he had met me and had gone to Denali to fight with himself about draining me as his singer. He knew that I was afraid of the way that she acted around him, and that I didn't want him to be around her unless the rest of our family was there as well, especially me. Now, he had decided to go there, by himself, against my wishes, knowing that as soon as the decision was made that Alice would have a vision and tell me. He had willingly chosen to do something to hurt me. Was he getting back at me? Was his plan to sleep with her? To get even with me for sleeping with Jasper? Was he trying to hurt me intentionally?

I silently unbuckled my seatbelt. I stood up in the back of the Jeep, and I put my hands on the roll bar. I stood in the seat, then I pushed off of the side of the Jeep, casting myself onto the side of the road. I landed lithely on the side of the road and ran into the woods which were bordering it on each side. I continued until I was blocked by a small subdivision, and I had to run at human speed through it, having no idea where I was, just wanting to be alone with my thoughts.

While I was running down the street at human speed, I heard someone call my name. It was Summer. She was outside, in one of the yards, walking her dog. I pulled up in front of her house. It was a nice, mid-level, one story ranch house with a porch and a two car garage. A young child was playing in the front yard with a tricycle on the sidewalk. Summer came to the side of the road. The dog wasn't happy to be in my presence. It kept pulling at the leash, trying to get away from me. I felt sad that most animals seemed to fear our nearness, as if they knew that we were a lurking evil.

"What are you doing in my neck of the woods?" she asked me. "Aren't you a good way from your home?"

"You know where we live?" I asked her back. Usually, the people didn't know where the Cullens lived until Alice had decided to throw parties. I doubted that she would be throwing any more parties. Those were for the human Bella who loved Edward, not for the vampire Bella who cheated on Edward with her husband. No, Alice probably wouldn't be throwing any more parties any time soon.

"Well, when the biggest mansion in town, which is owned by some unknown family is suddenly opened after being deserted for so many years, it is kind of hard to miss."

"Yes, I guess that it would be."

"Anyway, you never answered my question. What brings you slumming?"

It is still a free country, isn't it? Can't vampires run anywhere they choose? I wanted to say, but instead, I said, "I was just looking for new places to run. The same ole' route gets tiresome after awhile."

"Yes, you like to run. You really out did everyone this morning. I overheard Coach Mitchell talking about asking you to join the track team."

Oh, shit. Now that's just one more thing that I'm going to get into trouble with the others for. I just can't do anything right. "Well, I can't do that. I have other obligations. Look, I really need to get back to my run before I cool off too much."

"Oh, of course. I didn't mean to interrupt. It's just nice to have someone to talk to on occasion," she said.

"Anytime," I answered before I thought it through. Great, another thing that I've done wrong. Would this day never end? I picked back up my human run through the subdivision, and thankfully, I wasn't stopped again. At the end of the subdivision was a trailer park. I could see the blessed forest on the other side. All that I had to do was get through the trailer park without being seen. I took a deep breath and started in. As luck would have it, I of course ran into Kurt. He was sitting on the step of a grimy, dirty, dented trailer. He had his head in his hands. Coming from inside the trailer were the not so quiet sounds of a fight. It was plain to anyone within a ten foot radius that the man inside was drunk and was taking something out on the woman inside.

Edward's words came back to me. "Your father isn't a nice man, and he isn't the best example of how to treat a woman. In fact, one day, he will end up killing your mother if he continues to beat her like he did last night." I walked up to Kurt. I must have startled him because he jumped when I said his name. "Kurt, why are you sitting there letting this happen?"

"Go away, Bella. This isn't your business."

"The hell it isn't. This is everyone's business. He's going to hurt her."

"He'll hurt her worse if anyone interferes. He'll kill her."

"Has anyone ever called the police?"

"No one has the guts to do that. He'll kill her, then he'll come after them. You don't know him. He's evil."

"What is your address?" He told me. I took out my cell and called Charlie who I knew was working to day. "Charlie, this is Bella. Could you and your partner come to," and I gave him the address from memory. "There is a domestic dispute going on, and the guy sounds like he is going to kill the woman. Please hurry."

"Bella, what have you done. I told you that he'd kill you."

"Let him try. It's harder to do than you might think," I told him. "Stay out here, please." I opened the door to the trailer and walked in, closing it behind me. I looked around the place. Underneath all of the debris caused by the fight, the place was immaculate. Everything was in its place. I looked into the kitchen, and I saw the man and the woman. He was about six feet tall with a large muscular frame weighing about two hundred and eighty pounds. He was shirtless and had tattoos distributed all over his upper back and shoulders. She was petite, about five feet, five inches tall and weighed all of a hundred pounds soaking wet. Her dress, old but obviously well cared for, was ripped down the front. Her face had new bruises and her lip was swollen, cut, and bleeding. There was also a trickle of blood coming from her nose and a cut above her left eye which was also swelling. He had his mouth on her bared left breast, and I could see the teeth imprints from where he'd bitten her. He was in the process of lifting her dress and unbuttoning his pants when I rushed into the kitchen.

She was crying, "No, please Curtis, don't do this. I don't feel well. Please."

He hit her with a closed fist again, opening the cut above her eye further, causing it to bleed even more. "You don't tell me 'No' bitch. You are my whore, and you will do what I say, when I say it. Do you understand me? I said, Do you understand me?"

He pulled his fist back to hit her again, when I grabbed the fist and pulled him around to face me. "What the fuck?" he yelled.

"It's not nice to hit a lady," I said quietly, still holding his right arm.

"Just who the fuck do you think that you are?"

"I'm her guardian angel. I'm here to make sure that you never touch her again," I said as I took his arm and twisted it back, forcing the shoulder out of its rightful place in its socket. His scream echoed through the trailer. Still holding onto his now dislocated arm, I pulled him back into the living room to sit on the couch and wait on Charlie to arrive.

I sat down beside him. He was barefoot. I spoke to him in a very low voice, one that only he could hear. I told him that I was going to break one toe for everything that I saw that was injured on her body. He just laughed into my face, then he spit on me. I took his pinky toe on his right foot. I quickly snapped it in two. His face went fire engine red, but he didn't scream. "That was for the first cut above her left eye."

I took his fourth toe on his right foot. I snapped it in two. He couldn't keep in the scream that time. "That was for the second cut to her left eye."

I took his middle toe on his right foot. I snapped it in half. He screamed again. "That was for the swelling above her left eye."

I took his second toe on his right foot. I snapped it in half. This time he only groaned. "That one was for her bloody nose." He was whimpering by now.

I took his great toe on his right foot. "Hmm, this one is going to be harder to break. Don't worry, though, Curtis, I'm up to the task." I took the toe and snapped it in half. It made a very unique popping sound when it broke. I'm not sure that I've ever heard anything that sounded like it anywhere before. "That one was for her busted lip." He couldn't help but to scream out with all of his might. The sound could have wakened the undead. Wait, the undead don't sleep. I need a better analogy. Well, I'll have to think of that another time. I have more toes to break.

I picked up his left foot. He was sweating sheets by now. I took his left pinky toe and snapped it. "That one was for the swollen lip." He had tears streaming down his face.

I took his left fourth toe and snapped it. "That one was for one of the bite marks on her left breast. Now, how many bite marks does she have, I wonder. Now, don't you get up. You just sit there like a nice boy while I go count her bite marks, okay, sugar." I got up and went over to Kurt's mom. There were 5 bite marks total. I leaned down to her and said, "Don't worry, ma'am. The police are on their way, and he will never hurt you again."

"Oh, Curtis, you are being a very bad man." He was on the floor, in a small ball. He had thought that he could walk with broken toes. Little did he know that one actually needed their toes to walk. He should have paid more attention in school. I lifted him up by his dislocated shoulder and placed him back on the couch. He screamed in agony. "That little act of defiance will cost you two extra broken bones."

I took his left middle toe and snapped it. I knew that I'd have to hurry. Charlie would be here soon. I also snapped the left second toe and the great toe. That made up for the next three bite marks. "Okay, Curtis, I now owe you for one bite mark and two more for not minding. Do you ever beat Kurt for not minding. Do I need to look at him and see if he has any injuries?"

Curtis shook his head with a passion. I took his right hand. "Breaking your fingers just won't do. I think that I'll break those hand bones, so that you will learn a valuable lesson." I took his right hand and broke the second, third, and fourth bones in the hand proper. They made quite a satisfying pop. "This is your lesson. When you get out of jail, if you get out of jail. If you are allowed to come back here, to this house, you will never lay a hand on either Kurt or his mom. If you do, I will find out about it. Next time that I'm here, I won't be breaking small bones. I will be breaking leg bones and arm bones and back bones. Am I understood?" I looked at Curtis in his eyes, and he looked terrified at me. "Now, you're story when the police get here is that you broke your hand when you hit your wife. You hit your feet on the edge of the bed in the dark last night. Am I understood. I know where you live, and I can track you down. I can smell you in the dark. You can't escape me, and if you make me mad enough, I will kill you. I am fully capable of doing so with the flick of my wrist. Do you understand me?" He nodded.

I heard the police cruiser pull into the trailer park. Soon I heard them pull up to the right trailer, and Charlie got out. He asked Kurt if Bella were here, and Kurt said that I was inside. Charlie opened the door to find me sitting on the couch. His partner went immediately to the woman in the kitchen and radioed for an ambulance. Charlie came to me. I stood up and gave him a hug. "How are you doing, Charlie," I asked.

"Not too bad, Bells. I love my new house, and the job is fun. I had forgotten how much I like street work. Not so much paperwork. You remember how much I liked that. No more eighteen hour days. I actually get to watch more of the games. Might need to hire a maid soon, though."

"I'll come by and see if I can get things in order for you. It shouldn't take that much time," I said, breaking the hug before his partner came into the room.

"Bella, what is wrong. You seem down."

"Yeah, just some problems on the home front," I told him as Kurt walked into the trailer. "I'll come by later and talk to you about it. I've been trying to keep you out of it, but I guess that it's time to bring you up to date."

"Anytime, Bells, anytime. You know that my door is always open for you."

"I know Charlie. Anyway, this is Curtis. He was attempting to rape that lady in there when I stepped between them. He has a right dislocated shoulder, and I think that he broke some bones in his right hand the last time that he hit her in the left eye.

Charlie brought Curtis' hands around to the front and hand cuffed him. He read him his rights, and Curtis refused to answer any questions. The ambulance arrived and loaded up Kurt's mom. Charlie's partner, who he introduced to me as Billy, had also called the Department of Human Services to come and take custody of Kurt until his mom was released from the hospital. As they drove away, Charlie and Billy started to walk Curtis to the police car. He had one mighty limp, on both feet. When they asked him what was wrong, he told them that he had jammed his toes into the bed last night and injured his toes. They basically carried him to the police car. Charlie asked me if I would get home okay, and I told him that I was running. He offered to come back and get me, but at that moment, a canary yellow Porsche turned into the trailer park lot. Billy's eyes got big.

"That's where I recognized you from. We pulled you guys over a few days back. How do you know Charlie?" Billy asked.

"I met him a while ago," I said. "We just hit it off."

"You'd better watch it, man. She's jail bait," Billy said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"That's so gross that you're offensive. Besides, she's taken. By the way, where is Edward?" Charlie asked.

"That's part of my long story, Charlie," I said as I went to get into the Porsche. Jasper and Alice were in the car. I climbed into the backseat and put on my seatbelt.

Billy came up to the driver's side window. "Fancy meeting you guys here. How's is going, Jasper, isn't it?"

"Pretty well, I guess. Hi, Charlie. How are you doing?" Alice asked.

"Good Alice, and you?" Charlie asked. Alice had always been Charlie's favorite Cullen.

"A little stressed lately, I guess. I'm sure that Bella will explain everything during her talk with you tonight," Alice said.

"Oh, will you be cooking for me, too, Bells?" Charlie asked.

"Sure, Charlie, what do you want? Let me guess, fish?" I asked with a grin on my face.

"Bells, I haven't had fish since I moved here. If you could make me some real fish, I'd love ya forever," Charlie said.

"Fish it is, then. What time do you get off?" I inquired.

"I get off just as soon as we write up this guy," Charlie said.

"Okay, I'll go to the supermarket and see what I can catch," I said. "Bye, Charlie." The others told him bye, and he and Billy got into the patrol car and drove off. We followed them out of the lot, and Jasper drove me to the supermarket, or this town's excuse for one. We all went inside, and I went to the frozen fish area. They had some decent looking catfish fillets, but the rest of their fish selection was lacking. I'd have to order a variety of some good fish that Charlie would enjoy from the internet.

Jasper then dropped me off at Charlie's house. I went to the place that I knew that he would hide his extra key. Yep. It was there just like I knew that it would be. I unlocked the house and went inside. I told Jasper and Alice that either Charlie would bring me home, or else I would run. Their oversight duties for the night were over. I then took the groceries to the kitchen. I put the fish into some warm water to speed the thawing process. Then I took the ingredients and did my best to mimic his friend Harry Clearwater's fish fry breading mixture. I knew that it wouldn't be the same, but I always tried since Harry had passed away six years ago. Then I went to Charlie's bedroom and changed the sheets on his bed. I started a load of his laundry and started cleaning up around the kitchen. When I finished cleaning the kitchen, I went to the den. He had discarded beer cans and pizza boxes strewn all over the place. I gathered up the garbage and took it out. Then I went upstairs to his bathroom and gave it a really good cleaning. Charlie was right. Either I needed to come over once a week and give his house a good cleaning, or he needed to hire a maid. I figured that my time was so full of things to do, and I was never bored, that I could easily fit time into my busy schedule to clean Charlie's house. It was too bad that I couldn't do it during the night when I had nothing better to do. Maybe he would go on night patrol soon.

When Charlie walked in the door, I had the fish in the oven, the french fries cooking, the salad prepared, the first load of clothes in the dryer, the second load of clothes in the washer, and the house looking much cleaner. He came into the kitchen where I was sitting and gave me a big hug.

"I've missed you, Bella. I can't even begin to tell you what it means to me to have you back in my life."

"Awww, you just miss your cook," I jested with him.

"That, too," he admitted, taking a deep breath and licking his lips like a little boy. "You didn't have to clean up, you know."

"I didn't mind. It gave me something to do to keep my mind off of things."

"Are you ready to talk about it?"

"No, not really, but I guess that now's as good a time as any. Have you put your gun away?" I laughed.

"Yes, do I need to get it out again? Is there someone who has done something to you?"

"No, I just didn't want you to shoot your only daughter. Yes, people have been hurt, but it is all my fault. Daddy, I've done something horrible, and it's hurt the people that I love."

"You're eyes are still golden. You haven't slipped in your diet. I'd have heard about a murder," he said gazing into my eyes.

"No, Charlie. The Cullens are really forgiving when it comes to mistakes in diet. Carlisle and Rosalie are the only ones besides me who has never slipped up from time to time in their history."

"Even my Alice?"

"Yes, Dad, even Alice and Esme. They have all failed at one point or an other."

"Well, if it wasn't diet, then what did you do?"

"Wait one second. Let me get your supper." I took the fish out of the oven and got him some of the french fries. I put his salad in front of him. I then quickly washed all of the cookware.

"Okay, Bella, no more stalling. Out with it."

"Dad, this isn't easy for me to talk about, especially to you."

"Bella, you know that you can tell me anything. I'm your father, and I'll always love you no matter what mistakes that you make in life."

"Okay, here goes nothing. I cheated on Edward. I had an affair."

"You did what? I thought that Edward was your soul mate. He was the only one in life for you. He was the reason that you wanted to become a vampire. How could this happen? Who could draw you away from Edward?"

"Edward is my soul mate. He is my everything, but I've developed some strong feelings for someone else, too. He makes my dead heart race, and he makes me smile. He excites me and makes me want to jump into his arms. He dazzles me, and I want to be with him, too."

"Is it that boy at that trailer park where you were this afternoon?"

"Kurt? Oh, God No! He is a thorn in my side. I was just out for a run and just happened on the scene where his dad was beating his mom. I had heard Edward say that he had seen in his mind the beatings that she had endured and that his dad would probably end up killing her. I couldn't let that go on. No, Dad. I'm definitely not in love with Kurt."

"Then who, Bella. Who has gotten you so turned around that you don't see your love for Edward clearly anymore."

"Jasper," I whispered.

"As in Alice's Jasper," my Dad said, also whispering.

"The one and the same. Now you can see why I've screwed up everything so nice and royally. It happened the day that you two pulled us over. Jasper was really tense. When we got home, Emmett really laid into him about getting pulled over. You know Emmett; it was all in good fun, but it really got Jasper's goat. Jasper attacked Emmett, and it took Edward, Alice, and me to get him off of him. When Jasper realized what he'd done – Emmett was injured, somewhat severely – he ran off into the forest. When nobody made to follow him, I yelled at them for not caring and went after him myself. We had a long conversation about his feelings and his past as a vampire. Did you know that he was changed during the Civil War? Anyway, we talked all night. The next morning, we found a lake with no houses, just a lake in the middle of the wilderness. We swam all day, just playing around. When twilight came, one thing led to another, and we made love on the bank of the lake."

"Oh, Bella. What did you do? Did Edward find out?"

"Of course Edward found out! I told him what happened, Dad. That night, I went home and Jasper left. He felt like he couldn't be around me, going back to just being my brother. He used the excuse of the fight with Emmett to leave. Of course, with Alice's visions, that was a complete bust. Anyway, I went back to the house and called Edward out. We went into the forest, and I told him what had happened with Jasper. He told me that he couldn't deal with the situation, and went back inside the house. I stayed where I was until Monday morning when Esme came outside and got me. She made me get cleaned up and go to school. During lunch, Emmett talked to Edward, and we actually made some progress towards working things out, but when we got home, Carlisle had convinced Jasper to come home and all things went to hell in a handbasket. Edward attacked Jasper, and when I got between them to separate them, Edward started hitting me. Jasper fought Edward off of me, then they got into another fight, this time worse. Carlisle and Emmett broke the second one up, and Edward fled to his room. Jasper and Carlisle checked on me, and I was okay. The others left Jasper and me alone, and we started kissing again. We left the house and ran into the forest where we made love a second time."

"Oh, Bella, you didn't."

"Yes, Charlie, we did, and Edward caught us naked in each others arms. He got upset, rightfully so, and left the house. Later that night, he called me to meet him and go talk. We met about three a.m. and talked for a little while."

"So you two were the Cullens who were caught making out in the abandoned parking lot. I just knew that it had to be you two. I was just so proud that my daughter was shirtless and braless with her boyfriend at that hour of the morning."

"At least they didn't know that Bella Hale is Charlie Swan's daughter here," I pointed out. We never got caught doing anything like that in Forks."

"That's because you two didn't do anything like that in Forks, Bells. Isn't it?"

"Yeah, Dad, that's right. We never did anything like drive around at three am in Forks."

"What were you doing at three am in Forks?"

"I was sleeping," I assured him.

"Do I want to know what Edward was doing at three am in Forks?"

"Probably not, Dad," I said, taking his hand.

"Okay, ignorance is bliss, but you were a virgin when you married him, weren't you?"

"No, Dad. I wasn't."

"What do you mean? You weren't a virgin when you married Edward? When did he take advantage of you? How do you kill a vampire? I will track him down and kill him!"

"Charlie, will you listen to yourself? I was a virgin when I married Jacob, but Jacob and I were married for over three years. He didn't wait that long to consummate our marriage, Dad."

"Oh, yeah. I see what you mean. Okay, Bells, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me? Anyway, finish your story."

"We were doing okay with each other until we were trying to be intimate with each other, when Edward freaked out on me. He left me and has been on the run ever since. Now, today, I found out that he is on his way to Alaska to see Tanya."

"Who is Tanya?"

"She is a vampire who has been trying to get into Edward's pants for the past fifty or sixty years. She is supposedly one of his friends, but she has been unrelenting in her efforts to take him to her bed. He has told me that he is very uncomfortable when he is around her, and he makes a point to never go around her without another member of his family present with him at all times."

"And he is on his way there at this moment?"

"Yes, according to Alice, he is."

"I wouldn't worry about Edward, Bells. He hasn't ever given you any reason to not trust him."

"Neither had I, Dad, and he is very hurt and angry at me. I don't want to borrow trouble, but what if he is going there to get even with me?"

"I don't think that Edward has a mean bone in his body. I don't think that he has any intention of trying to get even with you, Bells. That just isn't in his nature. If he is going to see this Tanya, then it is because she is a friend, and he needs an objective person to talk with, not someone to have sex with. Bella, he waited how many years for you?"

"He waited about one hundred years for me."

"If he waited that long for you, he isn't about to give that up, just for spite."

"Thanks, Dad. You have made me feel so much better. I'm sorry that I've disappointed you."

"Bells, what you and Jasper have done is wrong. You've hurt both Edward and Alice. I can't support your actions, but they don't make me love you any less. You've made a serious mistake, and you are paying for it. It looked like Alice and Jasper have made amends, after all, they both came and picked you up this afternoon."

"Yeah, they are doing pretty good. They've been together for about sixty or so years. They've been through a lot in those sixty years. They are working on their relationship with me."

"It looked like they are trying hard. They seem to be supporting you pretty well to me."

"Yeah. They are the best. Emmett is on and off. Rosalie won't even speak to me. Esme is being great. She is trying to be supportive, and Carlisle is cool towards me. He is, of course, on Edward's side, and I don't blame him. Edward hasn't done anything wrong."

"Well, hang in there, Bells. I think that it will all work out. Trust your husband. Give him the space that he needs to work through this. Don't smother him, and he will be back to you soon."

I gave him a big hug and thanked him for the advice. I left the house, and when I went outside, Alice was waiting for me in the Porsche. "Well, how are you feeling after your talk?"

"I don't know. He says that I need to trust Edward to do the right thing, but, Alice, I know how he has talked about Tanya in the past. He has told me that he never wanted to be around her without someone else from the family being with him in order to try to negate her advances. I don't know what kind of message he is trying to send to me."

"I think that your Dad is on the right track. You have to trust Edward. I am wondering if this is some test for your trust in him. Don't blow your top. Trust Edward."

"That is all that I can do, Alice. That is all that I can do. I don't have any right to do anything else. I've already proven that I'm the one that can't be trusted."

"Come on, let's go home."

I nodded. Alice and Dad both made sense. I knew that Edward had never given me a reason not to trust him, and in my heart I did trust him, with my life. I also loved him with my life and my soul, and bottom line, I knew that he loved me the same way. I just hoped that it was enough.