I know. I suck. Sorry. I'm doing my best with the updates, I swear. I know I've said this many times, but THANK YOU for not giving up on this story. And thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has left me such kind and encouraging words.

Please note: Just in case it's not clear enough when you read, this chapter starts off only a few hours after the last one. It's Saturday, and Jacob's death was the Sunday before.

Disclaimer: Everything twilight related belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I only own the plot. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 25

BPOV

I sat at my desk hunched over my computer keyboard with my face in my hands, staring at the little black cursor flashing in the top left corner of the empty computer screen, willing it to magically start typing out my essay for me. I was way behind in all my schoolwork, and I had no idea how I was going to get everything done before finals, especially when my brain didn't seem to be functioning properly. "Ugh," I grumbled, pulling myself up from my chair and collapsing onto my bed. "Kill me now."

I heard Edward's light chuckle as I buried my face against the mattress, and I peeked out at him from under my hair when he sat down on the edge of the bed beside me.

"Absolutely not," he murmured, smoothing my hair from my face.

Sighing, I pulled myself up and pressed my forehead against his shoulder.

It had only been a few hours ago that I'd been a complete emotional mess, terrified that he had built an impenetrable wall between us, and I now had this constant need to feel him close. The past few days, when I'd felt him drifting further and further away, had been unbearable, and I needed the assurance that he wasn't about to push me away again. Not the verbal kind of assurance. I needed to feel it.

He combed a hand through my hair, then dropped a kiss to the top of my head, and my heart seemed to sigh in relief.

"You should take a break," he suggested. "Maybe take a nap."

I felt completely drained of energy, and the idea of taking a nap sounded heavenly, but it was already late afternoon and I had barely gotten anything done. I'd given up on finishing my Calculus today, but I needed to at least get a good start on my King Lear essay before the end of the day. "I can't," I groaned. "I have way too much work to do."

"You still need to take breaks," he insisted.

"Not before I even get anything done," I argued.

"Bella…"

"And let me guess," I muttered against his shoulder as if he hadn't spoken. "You are already completely caught up with all your schoolwork. Am I right?" I pulled my head up to meet his gaze. He opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off. "Wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know," I grumbled.

He laughed.

"Not funny," I muttered again.

He must have sensed my distress, because he grew serious again, taking my hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You're going to be fine, love. We'll put together some study sessions. Alice and Rose have already offered to help."

"I know. It's really sweet of them," I said with a smile. "Even though study sessions with Alice have often ended up being more of a distraction than anything else," I added with a laugh. "At least Rose has promised to keep her in line. She—" I broke off as I noticed the way he was studying me, a slight smile playing across his lips. "What?" I demanded.

He shook his head, his smile widening. "Nothing. I'm just glad you and Rose are getting along so well."

"Oh…yeah, um…we're…good friends now." I glanced down at my lap, struggling to find the right words.

"She loves you, Bella," Edward said simply. "She already considers you her sister."

Rosalie and I had definitely grown much closer over the past month, but it was nice to hear just the same. "I guess we…well, we understand each other better now."

"She's very protective of you."

My eyes widened and I looked up at him. "She is?"

He chuckled. "Didn't you notice her this morning? She was ready to rip my head off. And I shudder to think of what state I'll find my car in when I get home."

"Your car?" I repeated stupidly.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, my car. When Alice was dragging her from the room to give us time alone, she was imagining all the things she would do to it once she arrived home."

I gazed at him in shock. "But why?"

He sighed. "Honestly, Bella. Why do you think?" His voice grew quieter. "She's furious at me for upsetting you—not that I blame her."

"Oh," was the only thing that came out of my mouth, and I gazed downward again.

Before I even knew how it had happened, I was in Edward's lap, his arms locking around me in an inescapable hold. "God, I'm so sorry, Bella," he said fiercely. "Jacob and Tanya did their damndest to tear us apart, and I managed to accomplish it all on my own. I'm so sorry," he repeated.

I relaxed backward into his embrace and reached a hand up to grasp his arm. "I know," I said.

He pressed his cheek against the top of my head. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

I focused my gaze on my fingers as I began to trace patterns along the bulge of muscles on his forearm. "You can forgive yourself," I answered quietly. "For everything."

I heard him take an unsteady breath. I knew the direction my words would force his thoughts, and I almost wanted to take them back. Whenever I thought of him seeing anything of that worst night of my life, every part of me seemed to cry out with the horror of it. But I'd promised myself I would get him to forgive himself, and that was what I would do, no matter how difficult it was or how long it took.

"None of what happened with Jacob was your fault," I insisted.

His only response was to hug me closer. I knew it was as good as I was going to get for now. At least he hadn't argued with me.

"And there's something else you can do," I added after several minutes of silence.

"What's that?" he murmured against my hair.

I twisted in his arms and smiled mischievously. "Write my King Lear essay for me?" I asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Done."

"After all, it's only—wait, what?" I gaped at him once his reply penetrated.

His lips curved into a smile, but I could tell he was serious. "I'll write it tonight."

"I was only joking, Edward."

"Well I'm not. You've been pushing yourself too hard. I know you don't want to have to take extra time to graduate, but your health and well-being are more important than anything else. Don't worry about the essay. I'll take care of it if you'll take the rest of the day off."

How could anyone possibly argue with that? "So let me get this straight; Mr. straight A, model student is suggesting I cheat?" I teased, gazing up at him in mock horror.

He rolled his eyes. "My entire presence at school is a lie. I'm hardly a model student."

"True," I agreed with a grin. Then I frowned. "Wait. You can't write it for me. The teacher will know right away that it's not my writing."

He shook his head. "No he won't."

"Edward, I don't write anything like you," I reasoned.

"I know your writing style well enough. I can adapt my writing to fit," he said with a shrug. When he could see that I wasn't convinced he added, "Trust me, Bella. It'll be fine. You already have the outline done, right?"

I was still shocked that he was actually serious, but I wasn't about to argue with him. I just nodded, climbing off his lap to retrieve the piece of paper from on top of my desk.

At that moment, I heard Edward's cell phone chime, indicating an incoming text message, and when I turned back to face him, he was rolling his eyes as he glanced down at it. "What?" I questioned, curious.

"Emmett," he explained with a shake of his head.

"What—"

I was cut off by a knock on my bedroom door, then, "Bells?"

I turned to face the door as Charlie pushed it open.

"You doing alright?" he asked cautiously, his gaze flickering to Edward before settling on me again.

I knew he'd heard me crying this morning just after Edward had left for his hunting trip. But he'd never been any good with emotional touchy-feely stuff, so when Alice and Rose had arrived, he'd kept his distance.

"I'm fine," I assured him. "Just stressed with schoolwork."

From the look he gave me he obviously didn't believe for a second that that was what had triggered my emotional breakdown this morning. "Bells…" He hesitated. "Just…let me know if you need help with anything."

"Sure, Dad. I will," I said, trying to sound nonchalant in the hopes of easing his concern.

He nodded once, turned to leave, then hesitated and turned back to face me. "You want me to order in for dinner?"

"Dinner?" I repeated, glancing over at the clock beside my bed and realizing it was already after five. "Oh! Right. I didn't realize it was already so late. No, don't order in. I'll put something together with the leftovers from yesterday."

"You sure? Because—"

"Dad," I interrupted, my tone firm. "I'm fine. I'll be down in a few minutes to make dinner."

"Right. Okay then," he muttered, turning from the room.

Once he was out of earshot, I sank down on the bed beside Edward and sighed. "It's as if he thinks I'm going to shatter into a million pieces if he gets too close or says the wrong thing."

"I think you two need to talk things through with each other," Edward suggested.

I shot him a doubtful look. "And what exactly are we supposed to talk about?" I took in his cautious gaze and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Do you know something I don't?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I just think maybe you need to spend some time together. Charlie's off work tonight, and you"—he reached over to grab the paper containing my essay outline from the bed beside me—"are taking the rest of the day off," he reminded me.

I knew he was probably right. I hadn't seen or spoken much to Charlie this past week. He'd been working longer hours, and I'd been trying to sleep off my flu. Not to mention that I'd been too upset by the ever-increasing wall Edward had been building around himself to pay attention to much else.

I felt a tug to my heart at that thought, and my eyes immediately sought out the warmth of his gaze. I knew it was silly, but I felt like I'd just gotten him back, and I really didn't want to let him out of my sight tonight, even just for a few hours so that I could spend time with Charlie.

He threw me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me. Apparently my brothers seem to think I need babysitting." He held up his cell phone in explanation. "They're pretty much on their way here to get me, anyway," he told me with a quick laugh.

I smiled slightly. Thank God his family had been able to get through to him. "Well I guess you'd better get going then," I said, trying to sound cheerful. Even though I might want to, I couldn't very well keep him chained to my side.

"I'll be back later tonight," he promised.

"You'd better," I warned.

He smiled softly as he stood, then hesitated for a moment before leaning down to kiss my forehead.

But I wasn't having that. As he straightened again, I grabbed his arm, pulled myself to my feet, and wrapped my arms around his neck. His reluctance to initiate any kind of intimacy between us was clear. Only when I made my intent obvious by stretching up on my tiptoes and trying to pull him down to my level did he meet me halfway, his hand moving to cradle the back of my head. As soon as our lips touched they moved together desperately, longing, as if expecting something, or someone, might reach out and snatch everything away in an instant. God knows it had happened countless times.

When we finally broke apart, he kept his forehead pressed against mine for a moment while I steadied my breathing, his thumb lightly stroking my cheek before he reluctantly pulled away.

"Love you," I told him, trying to resist the urge to grab hold of him again.

"Love you, too," he said softly. "I'll see you in a bit."

After he'd left, I set myself up with the task of making dinner for Charlie and myself. Renee was out shopping because, despite my protests, she was planning on sticking around for a while, and she hadn't brought all of her necessities with her from Florida. She was still staying at the hotel, but according to Edward, Esme was insisting on inviting her to stay at the Cullen house. I couldn't understand why I was the only one who had the good sense to see that it was a very bad idea. Well, maybe she would refuse the offer anyway. Edward seemed convinced he could win her over, but I wasn't so sure.

And I was really not looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow was Sunday, and Renee had suggested that the three of us go out and have lunch together, the purpose being for her to get to know Edward better. As far as I was concerned, it spelled trouble.

"Need any help?"

I jumped, dropping the knife I'd been holding to chop up tomatoes for the salad, and swung around with my hand pressed to my heart.

"Sorry, sorry," Charlie muttered.

"No, it's fine," I said quickly. "I was…lost in thought. I didn't hear you come in," I explained, reaching down to pick up the knife. My evening with Charlie was certainly getting off to a great start, I thought sarcastically. I was about to suggest he toss the salad when the phone rang, piercing through the awkwardness that had once again settled between us. I turned to drop the knife in the sink while Charlie answered it.

"Charlie Swan, here."

My thoughts were focused on what I should do to get things back to normal between Charlie and me, so it took me a moment to realize I hadn't heard him say another word since his initial greeting. When I turned to face him again, the phone receiver was back on its cradle, and he was staring at the wall, his hands gripping the edge of the stove.

"Dad?" I questioned with a frown. "Who was it?"

"Huh? Oh, ah, wrong number," he explained as he turned to face me again.

It was then that I really started to take in his appearance. There were dark circles under his eyes that were weathered with creases, making it look like he'd aged five years in the last few weeks, and his skin seemed to lack some of its usual color.

I felt a sharp pang of guilt. It was at least partly my fault, but was there more to it than that? "Is everything alright, Dad?" I asked, concerned.

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" he said quickly. Too quickly.

I frowned. "It's just…"

The phone rang yet again, and Charlie reached over to snatch up the receiver. "Hello?" he said gruffly. "Oh, hi, Derek." He paused to listen. I knew Derek was one of his deputies. "Well, did you explain that to him?" Another pause. Then he sighed. "No, I'll be right over." He placed the receiver back on its cradle and turned back to me. "I need to go over to the station. Jeff, my new deputy, has made a mess of things," he explained with another sigh. "I'll probably be a while. Will you be okay here by yourself?" he asked, studying me worriedly.

I had to suppress the urge to roll my eyes. "Of course, Dad. But what about dinner?"

"I'll have to grab something on the way," he told me as I followed him out of the kitchen. He disappeared upstairs for a few minutes before reappearing wearing his uniform. "You sure you'll be okay?" he asked me again.

I gave an exasperated sigh. "Just go," I ordered with a wave of my hand.

"Alright, well, lock the door behind me, will you?" he said as he stepped outside.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered as he closed the door behind him. Anyone would think I was ten years old or something, I thought with a shake of my head. I flipped the lock into place and turned from the door. So much for spending some quality time with Charlie tonight, I thought sarcastically as I trudged back to the kitchen to finish throwing together my dinner.

I served myself a small portion of the chicken casserole I'd made from yesterday's leftovers and placed it in the microwave to heat while I finished preparing the salad. Once ready, I filled my plate and took a seat at the dining room table to eat. After swallowing the first mouthful, I was suddenly acutely aware of the silence that had settled over the house now that I was alone.

I hauled in a steadying breath, then jabbed my fork into a piece of chicken and shook my head as if to clear it. What was the matter with me? It wasn't as if I'd never been alone before. I was behaving as irrationally as Charlie. "You sure you'll be okay here by yourself?" he'd asked. Of course I would. What kind of a ridiculous question was that?

Annoyed, I speared another piece of chicken, trying to convince myself that it was Charlie that was the target of my frustrations when in reality I was angry with myself. I knew why he'd asked, and I didn't want to admit that there was anything to his concern. So what if it had been a while since I'd been alone? Jacob and Tanya were both dead, and I no longer needed round-the-clock protection.

So then why did I keep literally jumping at shadows? My gaze once again flickered to the window overlooking the front lawn. The sun hadn't set yet, but it was gray and murky outside, the branches of the trees casting eerie shadows across the lawn.

I jumped to my feet suddenly and yanked the blinds over the window before flipping on the light over the table. Madness. Was I expecting someone to jump out of the shadows or something?

I sank down in my chair again and swallowed a few mouthfuls of my dinner, trying to calm my nerves and figure out what I was going to do with myself tonight. Even though Edward's idea to give me some time alone with Charlie was pointless now, I wasn't going to give in to the urge to call him. He was finally free from having to protect me twenty-four-seven, and he needed to spend some time with his family. The events of this morning were proof of that. They'd been able to get through to him when I hadn't. He needed them, whether he realized it or not. The last thing I was going to do was get in the way of that.

I finished the last few bites of chicken casserole and then busied myself with cleaning up the kitchen.

I needed to get out for a bit, I realized as I placed the remains of the salad in the fridge. I'd been stuck inside all week. It was no wonder I was going a bit crazy. I scanned the contents of the fridge and freezer, both of which were almost empty. I would go grocery shopping, I decided. We were obviously in dire need of foodstuff, and it would give me a chance to get some fresh air.

With my mind made up, I proceeded to make a list of things we needed from the grocery store. Then I scribbled a quick note to Charlie, telling him where I'd gone. Most likely he wouldn't be back until late tonight, but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Based on his recent behavior, he'd probably panic if he came home and found me gone.

After grabbing my raincoat, handbag, and keys, I left the house.

By the time I pulled into a parking space near the grocery store, night was already starting to descend, the gray sky growing blacker by the minute. As I climbed out of my truck, my pulse quickened and my eyes anxiously darted around the dimly lit parking lot. Get a grip, Bella, I thought. Jacob's gone. You're perfectly safe. But my silent lecture did nothing to loosen the ball of tension in my middle. There was an irrational part of me that was still expecting him to leap out of the shadows. Crazy, I told myself as I hurried across the parking lot to the front entrance of the store.

But it didn't matter how irrational I knew it was; my fear still wouldn't loosen its grip. I felt panicky and claustrophobic as I made my way through the store isles, grabbing items that were on my list and tossing them into my shopping cart. The store was fairly busy, but it only made matters worse. Even though I kept reminding myself over and over that Jacob was dead and that he couldn't possibly have sent anyone after me again, I was still struggling for calm, my hands gripping the cart handle so tightly they hurt.

When I stopped in the deli section, situated against the back wall of the store, another shopper drew up beside me, commenting on the meat prices. However, all that registered was that he was tall, dark, and standing way too close for comfort. My lungs hitched as if they might stop working, and I turned on my heel and sped off toward the opposite end of the store, my heartbeat pounding in my eardrums. Calm down, Bella. Calm down. He was just being friendly. Everything's fine. Everything's fine. But the small voice of reason in my head once again lost the battle as the panic crawled up from deep inside me.

I was forced to a stop when my cart rammed into a display of cereal and a few boxes toppled to the floor. I stood frozen for a moment, staring at the floor. As my gaze darted upward again, my heart nearly leapt out of my chest when I caught sight of the huge figure that had appeared in front of me, the shopping cart being the only thing that stood between us. As the figure bent to pick up the cereal boxes, however, my eyes fell to his face and I almost wept in relief.

Edward. I had no idea what he was doing here, but I was so relieved to see him that I didn't really care.

As he straightened his gaze locked onto mine, his eyes attempting to sooth. "Hey," he greeted, his voice a low rumble that curled around me. "I thought maybe you could use some company." His smile was soft, understanding.

I gulped and nodded. I could now sense multiple pairs of eyes on me, and I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole. If the biggest rumor going around at school was as Alice and Rose had told me, the whole town probably knew it as well, and I could guess what they were thinking: There's chief Swan's crazy daughter, the one that was raped by that Indian boy who killed himself.

And I was crazy. My fear defied all reason, yet it was very real.

The room seemed to pivot on a wobbly axis, and I was still tightly gripping the handle of my shopping cart when I felt Edward's steady hand close over mine like an anchor, his cool touch soothing against my clammy skin. "I've got it," he whispered, gently prying my hand loose so that he could take control of the cart.

My arms fell limply to my sides, and my heartbeat slowed as I felt Edward's closeness. He always seemed to radiate an energy that could calm me like nothing else could. The palm of his hand rubbed up and down my back soothingly for a moment before coming to rest against my lower back, and as he steered me toward the front of the store, I clung to him like a frightened child, my fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt at his waist in a tight fist. It was pathetic, I knew, but I couldn't seem to help myself.

Edward didn't say a word. He just led me to the cash, paid for the groceries, and then took me to his car.

As he began loading the groceries in the back of it, I finally found my voice. "What about my truck?" I asked.

"I'll come back for it later," he assured me.

It was only a four-minute drive home and neither of us spoke. I wanted to just forget the entire trip to the store. Pretend that I wasn't a pathetic mess. Pretend that I wasn't so pitiful that I'd panicked for absolutely no good reason. However, I failed miserably at that as well. To my dismay, when we arrived home and I pulled out my house key, I couldn't even slide it into the keyhole because my hand was shaking so badly.

Wordlessly, Edward placed his hand over mine and took the key from me, sliding it into the lock with ease.

Trying not to let on how upset I was with myself, I dropped my hand and turned toward the car, muttering that I was going to get the groceries. After I had grabbed two of the six bags from the back of the car, Edward drew up beside me, his arm catching me around my waist as I turned toward the door. He plucked the bags from my hands and set them on the ground before closing me in the circle of his arms.

My will crumbled then. He felt like a wall of muscle, so hard and invincible, yet wonderfully safe. And I didn't care how pitiful it was; I clung to him as if I was about to fall to my death and he was my only salvation. "I'm so pathetic," I said thinly, my voice muffled by his shirt.

"No," he whispered. "You've just been through hell."

xxxxx

"So what do you want to watch?" Edward asked me as I plopped myself down on the sofa beside him about an hour later. I had showered and was now dressed in my nighttime attire of grey sweat pants and a loose-fitted T-shirt.

"I don't mind," I told him as he picked up the TV remote from the small table beside the right end of the sofa. I didn't care what we watched as long as I could escape with him from the real world for a few hours. I didn't want to think about our lunch date with my mother tomorrow or, even worse, school the following day.

Perched on the edge of the sofa, Edward started to search through the different TV channels, and I scooted closer to him, dropping my chin to his shoulder as I focused my gaze on the screen.

Edward turned his head to press a quick kiss to my temple in response before facing the TV again.

On second thought, I would rather watch a movie than a TV show, preferably a long movie.

"Let's watch this," I said quickly, pulling my head up when Edward flipped past a channel displaying the opening credits of a movie.

After flipping back to the channel in question, Edward turned to regard me, his brow raised skeptically. He knew that I didn't usually like to watch horror movies, and it was obvious from the creepy music and background scenery that the movie was of that genre.

"I'm in the mood for a scary, thriller type movie," I said defensively, and strangely enough, I was in the mood for one tonight. I'd been jumping at shadows so much that the thought of engaging in the world of fictional monsters was somehow appealing.

"Alright. Scary, thriller movie it is then," Edward agreed.

He set down the remote, and I ducked under his arm, snuggling against his side. He pulled me close as he leaned back against the sofa, and I let out a quiet sigh of contentment. This was what I needed. To feel the sturdiness of his body against mine, the solidness of his shoulder beneath my cheek. It always felt so right to be cradled in his arms. It was as if, even if nothing else made sense, this was the one thing that always would.

After we were only about half an hour through the movie, I decided that it wasn't really a very good one. It wasn't even all that scary.

No sooner had that thought left my mind than the poor, unsuspecting victim on-screen received a rather gory bashing, and I gasped and hid my face against Edward's shoulder. I felt him vibrate beneath me as he chuckled, and I pulled away and crossed my arms across my chest. "Are you laughing at me?" I scowled.

"Of course not," he said, the obvious amusement in his eyes betraying his words.

When I continued to glare, he rolled his eyes and then patted his shoulder. "Get back here, silly Bella."

At that moment, I sudden scream came from the TV, and I jumped with a start and dove back into Edward's arms.

He laughed again as he caught me, but tightened his hold when I tried to pull away again. "Oh no you don't," he said, his voice low.

"You're so mean," I muttered as I shifted to get comfortable again. "You're supposed to be nice and romantic and comfort your fiancé through the scary parts," I told him as I tilted my head up to meet his gaze, smiling inwardly when I said fiancé and took in the way his eyes grew softer. I'd definitely scored points for that.

Tucking me securely under his arm, he bent to whisper in my ear, assuring me that he would protect me from the evil villain of the movie. Then he kissed the end of my nose. "Better?" he asked with a smile.

"Better," I approved, dropping my head back against his shoulder. I had been hoping for more than just a simple kiss, but I guess I would take what I could get. For now.

As the movie wore on, I became less and less focused on it. Now that I was relaxing, my exhaustion was starting to take over and I was finding it difficult to keep my eyes open.

And then there was the fact that I was suddenly much more aware of Edward's touch. His arm had slid down from my shoulders to loop around my lower back, the expanse of his hand curling around my side, where his fingers were tracing the curve of my waist. Light touches, and ever so gentle, barely seeming to graze the cloth of my shirt; yet I was more aware of the movement of his fingers than anything else.

I was afraid to move even slightly, for fear he might misinterpret it and pull his hand away. I hadn't even realized how much I'd missed—or rather, how much Edward had been holding back—even just the simplest of touches. And I craved more. I wanted to feel the touch of his fingertips directly against my skin.

As if in reply to my thoughts, the motion of his hand caused my shirt to ride up slightly. But as soon as I felt the coolness of his fingers brush against my skin, his hand suddenly froze in place for a moment before I felt it disappear.

My heart sank with disappointment, my skin still tingling from the familiar, yet long deprived, caresses. He hadn't even been aware of what he'd been doing, I realized. It had been an unconscious gesture, and then reality had set in and he'd moved his hand back up to my shoulder.

I wanted to reach out and pull it back down again.

Instead, I settled for trying to press myself even more tightly against his side. I was too tired for much else. At least that was what I convinced myself of anyway.

For the remainder of the movie I found myself dozing in and out of sleep. At some point, my eyes briefly flickered open to see the end credits of the movie scrolling up the screen. "That was good," I said with a yawn.

Edward chuckled. "You didn't even watch half of it."

I shrugged slightly as my eyes drooped closed again, my head lolling against his shoulder. "It gave me an excuse to cuddle with my fiancé for a couple hours," I heard myself mumble.

There was silence for a few seconds before I heard his soft reply. "You don't need an excuse for that."

"Good to know," I mumbled again, my voice so quiet now that I could barely hear myself.

Though my eyes were closed, and my mind drifting, my heart skittered in my chest when I felt the softness of his lips press against mine for a moment. If I hadn't been half asleep I might have tried to keep him there for longer. But as it was, even the brief contact was enough to soften my bones to the point of improper function.

The next thing I was aware of was the sofa disappearing from beneath me. I gasped, my arms automatically searching for something to grab onto.

"Shh, it's alright. I've got you," I heard Edward say.

I relaxed at his words, and they were the last I remembered before slipping into a deep sleep.

Author's Note:

I'm hoping everyone isn't disappointed with me because I took so long to update and then there's not a lot going on in this chapter. But I promise you that none of it was random filler. There's a reason for everything. I had had more planned for this chapter, but if I had made it all into one chapter it would have been very long and would have taken forever to get to you.

There will be some EPOV in the next chapter so that you can see how he's handling things.

Anyone want to guess what's up with Charlie?

So I was nominated for the "what an asshole" award because I keep taking so long to update! LOL. KIDDING! Jacob from Mistaken Trust was nominated for the "what an asshole" award at the Hidden Star Awards for best bad guy in a story! Thank you to whoever nominated me! Voting hasn't started yet, and it hasn't been announced when it will start, but if you would like to check out all the great stories nominated for an award or follow the blog, here is the link: .com

Again, I'm sorry for the slow updates. Life sucks. I had hoped to finish my Master's degree by May, but things didn't go quite as planned and I won't be finished until August. May is going to be one of the worst months for me because in order to defend in August, I have to completely finish writing my Thesis by the beginning of June, and right now I'm only about half way done. Anyway, I will just have to do my best with continuing to write this story when I can and hope that you won't lose faith in me! Drop me a line so I know you're out there! It would mean a lot to me!

New Note (added May 4th): I've just leaned that Mistaken Trust has been nominated for two awards at the Sunflower Awards for Best Edward and for Best Bella. I am just so honoured by this! THANK YOU. Voting has started, and if you are so inclined, I would love your vote! Voting goes until May 25. Here is the link (also on my profile): .com