Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

The weekend moved like a slow moving train as I tried to question dad over the past while he avoided me like the plague.

"How can you say he's innocent when he's acting this?" I hissed to Edward as we both watched Dad working in the yard just to avoid me.

"Bella, his outside because you yelled at him when he mentioned your mother," Edward laughed before nudging me in a playful manner. I knew he was trying to make me laugh, but he had no idea how insulting it was to be compared to that woman.

"Well, what type of fucking idiot would compare me to my mother," I spat out like the words were bitter on my tongue.

"Renee wasn't all that bad," he sighed as I felt him lean into me.

"I thought you hated her," I demanded, not bothering to hide he accusation that rang out in my voice.

"I can't hate her now. She is your mother and, well without her, there is no you," he commented in a stilted manner that caused me to turn and gawk at him.

"Are you having a relapse from that thirty year old head injury of yours?" I asked him with a smart ass grin, causing him to bark out a laugh before rolling his eyes. The

"No… But let's say I have a new appreciation for her, ok?"

"You are ridiculous," I snorted as I turned away from the window to go back up to my room before Dad came inside.

"Hey, I'm going to Emmett's," he announced causing me to stop as I made my way up the stairs. I knew he was leaving, but somehow the idea of him being gone bothered me. It was a different type of emptiness that I couldn't explain and refused to tell him about.

"I'll be back before you're asleep," he assured me as if he knew the turmoil twisting inside of me.

"You'll be ok?" Edward asked with a hopeful look on his face. It was outlandish to feel this way, yet I did.

"Of course," I breathed out with a smile as he grinned happily in response.

"Be good."

I watched him slowly fade away into nothing before my eyes while his laughter lingered in the surrounding air. I wasn't sure what his definition of good was, I just knew being good never solved any mysteries according to the books I had read.

I waited for Edward to return, biding my time as I made notes of what he had told me concerning his death. There were only a few bits of information that I knew to be true facts.

Edward was dead and my father was there.

Everything else consisted of minor details. I knew nothing about what truly happened and I wasn't sure how to go about even finding out. 1985 and Edward's death was all before the boom of the internet so I was limited before I even began. I refused to let that stop me as I spent my time searching the internet for some tidbit of information, but I only learned the basics about him.

Edward was born June 20, 1967 and died May 5, 1985.

He was four time reigning state chap for high school wrestling in the 165 weigh class. His back up the year he died was Charlie Swan.

He was the oldest son of Carlisle and Esme Cullen, who both moved away from Muscatine after Emmett graduated high school in 1987. They managed the scholarship fund established in Edward's name.

The class of 85 had a bought an oak tree in his honor that grows on the high school campus. There is a small plaque beside the tree listing his name, but beyond that there was nothing.

There was no real mention of his death or what happened. No obituary to read or stories posted about a life gone before his time. It was almost as if he had never even existed.

"Hey, I said good night."

Dad caught me by surprise as I looked up from my lap top to find him standing in my door. I had been so enthralled with finding out anything concerning Edward that didn't even hear him approach. It left me juggling the lap so that it almost toppled off the bed on the floor as I tried to keep him from being able to see it.

"Good night," I mumbled as I snapped the lid shut to keep his prying eyes always from who I had been researching.

"Did that Newton kid do something?" Dad asked suddenly, catching me by surprise once more with his odd question.

"No," I gasped as I gawked at him. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're acting all… strange… and he's a weird kid… I mean, his parents sent him away for something," he mumbled as he rubbed at the back of his neck nervously.

"Hey, let's not judge why he was sent away," I commented as I bristled with what he wasn't saying about Mike.

Dad may have forgotten I had been sent away many times before, but I hadn't.

"I'm just saying…" he began slowly as he stepped back out into the hallway, but it was too late. I was already feeling the swell of displaced rage and righteous indignation over being locked up more time than I could count.

"And I'm just saying don't judge," I shot back as he held up his hands in defeat while shaking his head.

"Hey Dad?" I called out as I watched him start to retreat to his bedroom once more. "I was reading about your old friend Edward Cullen."

My words fell heavy in the room as silence descended upon us. I could see the slight frown crease his eyes as he rubbed his neck once more.

"Why are you doing that?" he asked me softly without hiding the surprise that lingered in his voice.

"I don't know," I stuttered with a shrug. It was always easier to lie. "Some of the kids mentioned him and there is Emmett Cullen."

My explanation was weak, but dad just nodded his head as if he understood my fascination with Edward.

"Edward was a good guy," he whispered softly as he looked away from me for a moment before meeting my gaze once more.

"He jumped right?" I asked him and then waited as I held my breath. This was his chance to tell me what happened, not that I ever believed that he would.

"That's what they say," he commented, but I could hear the stiffness in his words. They sounded rehearsed, perfect and worn out from years of repetition.

"Why would he jump through a skylight? That makes no sense," I commented as I listened to my heart pounding in my ears. It was loud and damning as I tried to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary when it came talking about a boy who was long dead.

"No, it doesn't," he agreed almost reluctantly as he stepped back once more without saying anything more about Edward.

"You need to go to bed," he stated firmly, telling me our conversation was over.

"But you agree with me, right?" I asked, knowing that he had more to say, but was refusing to say it for whatever reason. Instead, he just stated good night before turning back towards his room to escape me.

I tried to wait up for Edward's return, but the emotion of the day was too much. It wrecked me, zapping my strength as it lulled me into a chaotic slumber. I tossed and turned as images of a falling boy surrounded by shattered glass haunted my dreams. It wasn't until much later in the night that I awoke to the feeling of Edward's arm around my middle pulling me back against him. It was followed by a breathy whisper, "I'm here." It was just enough to comfort me before falling back into another dream of starry nights and whispered promises from the boy who held me tight.

AN:

Thanks for reading! Thanks to Sarah and Lou for the quick turn around on this chapter. Any lingering mistakes are mine.

I will be posting a teaser for CH 27 in my facebook group as well as in review replies. Minor teaser for ch 27 it should include the introduction of 2 new characters and a visit to see Tanya.

Until next Wednesday!

Xoxo

Mamasutra