Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the goodness associated with it...I own a red satchel that I love more than I should

Miss Me?

BPOV

"Where the hell have you two been?" Jasper and Emmett yelled at us in unison, making my already erratic heartbeat stutter all the more with fright.

"Don't fucking yell at us." Edward managed to gasp out. After running solidly for the past twenty minutes with me on his back he was on the point of collapsing. I slid down his back to stand on my own feet and relieve his burden.

"You'd never make it as a soldier." I absentmindedly informed him.

He screwed his face up at me but didn't say anything.

"We went for a walk." I informed the impatiently hovering Emmett and Jasper. "We found some camping gear, I saw someone watch us."

"You what?!" Edward practically screamed at me.

"I didn't want to scare you."

"You didn't want to scare me? Jesus Bella, it should be the other way around!"

"Oh for god's sake Edward!" I yelled exasperated. "You would have barely heard me above your laboured breathing. I didn't want your heart to give out completely." He looked at me like I had just ripped his balls off. The adrenaline running around my body was making me a complete cow.

"Well excuse me for trying to get you home safely." He retorted with no emotion in his voice. We scowled at each other for what seemed like an age before Jasper wrapped an arm around me and led me from the room.

Tears threatened to spill out from the prison I currently held them in. Deep gasps broke from my throat and I pushed my face into Jasper's chest.

"Shush Bella." He murmured, circling his palms across my back to calm me.

I could hear Edward and Emmett arguing in the kitchen, their voices too low for me to make out what they were saying. Jasper's hand continued to circle on my back until I was no longer in danger of drowning my face with tears.

"I'm such bitch. He hates me now." I whispered. "I've ruined it."

Jasper pulled me away and looked me straight in the face with an incredulous look plastered all over it. "Are you nuts? He loves the air you breathe. A couple of stupid words said in a moment of tension don't change that."

"I'm so tense today Jas', I don't know what I'm saying half the time."

"Everyone is tense Bells. I can practically taste it in the air. Edward understands." Feeling better I nodded at him.

I walked back into the kitchen and watched as Edward hung up the phone. We looked at each other for a beat before I crossed the room and threw myself into his arms. His hands stroked down my back in a reassuringly familiar gesture.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too." A ghost of a smile crossed his lips before he spoke again. "I phoned your dad, he is sending someone to the meadow to look into it. He's coming here to speak to Esme too."

The thought of my dad being in the vicinity comforted me slightly. Even though things had been less than serene the previous evening I knew he didn't have it in him to be mad at me for long. We loved each other too much for that. When I'm mean my heart aches with it, the guilt is all consuming. So I would say sorry to Charlie when I saw him today. With any luck he would forgive me my transgressions and be able to look me in the eye again.

Edward bundled me down onto his lap and we waited.

"You should have told me you saw someone."

"I didn't know whether it would make you run faster or stop and go back. I didn't want to risk you getting hurt." I admitted. The thought that he would put me down and go back to confront the man had made my heart beat like a hummingbird's.

"I don't know what I would have done either. But I would have made sure you were safe."

"I don't ever doubt that you would keep me safe Edward, but you have to understand that your safety is tantamount to me, just like mine is to you."

It was half an hour later when Charlie pulled up to the house. Edward held my hand lightly but I pulled my hand out of his and wrenched the front door open to fling myself down to greet my father.

"Dad, I'm so sorry about last night." I made to break our unspoken no hugging agreement for the second time in two days but he put his hand out to prevent me from doing so.

"I'm here in an official capacity Bella." His voice was cold and he wouldn't look me in the eye. I could feel myself looking up at him doe eyed, tears beginning to spill down my cheeks. I hate that I'm a crier. I wish that I was one of those people who needed to be poked in the eye before tears came. As it was I had progressed from being a person who cried when angry to a person who cried at the drop of a fucking hat.

"Fine." Oh there's the anger. Maybe I hadn't deviated too far away from who I really was after all. "So sorry Chief Swan, I mistook you for my father." I sneered at him. "Please won't you come in?" I stormed away and back into Edward's arms, swiping at the tears on my cheeks as I walked. I didn't have to look back to see Charlie wince at my tone.

"Christ Bells, you certainly know how to deliver a low blow." Frowned Emmett when we walked back into the house.

EPOV

Bella was getting edgier by the second. There was one way I knew that would relax her but I was pretty sure I couldn't get away with that in a room with her father in it. He was acting downright cold towards Bella and it was making my blood boil. He could be angry and hate me all he wants, just don't take it out on her. Not that she has any issue with taking care of herself; having just witnessed her sneering coldness unleashed upon her dad I was sure of that fact now.

I couldn't help but think about the fact that she had actually seen someone up there. I had mentioned that to Charlie when I asked him to get someone to look up there. He had promised to get one of the officers he called in to help to have a look.

Bella squeezed my hand to bring my attention back to the table. She smiled quickly before placing her gaze upon Charlie.

"I saw someone up there. I didn't see his face, just his eyes. They were bright blue, like Jasper's but...soulless."

"That's all you saw?" She nodded and refused to look at him again.

"I had someone try to find out where the flowers were from." Charlie told us. "We found the shop in Port Angeles, said some guy would come in and buy them. I have the credit card slips."

My heart leapt. Finally some good news, they had to be able to trace this sick bastard from that surely. Bella caught my sudden change in posture and grinned at me. I could see my thoughts reflected in her eyes.

"What's his name?" Emmett asked.

"The card is registered to an Edward Mason."

I felt like I had been slapped.

Bella looked at me like I had grown another head.

"Mason?" She whispered, obviously thinking back to our conversation where I had revealed my birth name to her.

"That can't be right." I stated. Esme looked like she wanted to stand up and come over to me but I winced away slightly, still smarting from the revelations of the other day. Alice and Rosalie had joined us quietly, standing together behind Esme, curious to find out whether some progress had been made.

"That's the information I have Edward."

"Well you can add fraud to this fuckers list of crimes then Chief!" I growled, making everyone wince away from me. "I have one credit card and it's in the name of Cullen. And I'm pretty sure my father isn't using his card where he is right now." My mouth curled without humour, baring my teeth in disgust.

"The clerk gave a description that fitted you." He stared at me. My jaw muscle started to twitch under the pressure I was putting on it by clenching my teeth together. "But we took the CCTV footage and the guy looked nothing like you, he was older for one. We think he was paid a little extra to give an embellished description. I'm getting a picture to bring up so that you can have a look at it."

"Edward..." Esme started towards me.

"Don't you fucking touch me." I suddenly felt like the most repugnant man on earth, she looked like I had slapped her. How can I do this to her? But still I held my ground, my eyes blazing with the thoughts screaming through my head.

"Edward." Bella growled at me, staring me down with her lips pressed tightly into a line and her nostrils flared. "Outside."

We were both still incredibly overwrought.

We had already said things we both wanted to forget today after the meadow.

Things were about to get worse I could tell.

I was suddenly very afraid for my testicles.

She at least waited until we were outside on the deck and the door was closed to hand me my ass on a plate.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She rounded on me furious.

"How could you do that to Esme?!" There was no pause for me to answer. With every question that I could not answer I sunk lower to the ground.

"Who do you think you are?!"

"That woman loves you and you treat her like that in front of virtual strangers?!"

"Are you not grateful for what she and Carlisle have done for you?!"

"Would you not have at least considered the same course of action if you were the parent?!"

"How do you expect Charlie to respect and like you when you treat your own adoptive mother like a piece of shit on your shoe?!"

Whirling back round to face me she delivered the knockout punch.

"What would your parents think of you now Edward?" She whispered and it had a greater effect than the rest. It was a low blow and one I deserved. I wasn't brought up to treat people like this by either of my mothers.

By the time Bella was finished I was sitting with my back to the wall of the house, staring out across the rolling green land and letting the tears just fall from my eyes not even trying to hide them. All five foot four inches of Bella Swan towered over me.

"I guess maybe I'm not as fixed as I thought I was." I managed to croak out, looking up at her.

"You can't fix asshole." She sniggered at me and right then it was the best sound in the world. "You love Carlisle and Esme." She crouched down in front of me, taking my hands in hers as I nodded in answer even though it was a statement. "They love you very much too. All they have done is try to do the best by you and Emmett."

"I know."

"You need to show that you know Edward. This is hurting you all and I can't stand to watch it."

"I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." She stood up and pulled my hands with her making me stand up; as soon as I was on my feet her body was pressed into mine. Resting my chin on the top of her head I sighed and closed my eyes.

"It's not me you're hurting."

She was right. Of course she was right. I was being a shit and it was going to stop.

Purposefully I walked back into the house. Apprehensive eyes watched my movements. They had clearly all watched Bella yell at me through the glass and were now wondering just how that was going to play out back in the house. Esme sat at the head of the table, her eyes full of tears, her spirit barely alive. I hated that I could have caused any of that.

"Esme, I am so sorry." I told her sincerely. "None of this is your fault and I've behaved appallingly. Please forgive me."

"Of course." Unconditional forgiveness. This woman truly was my mother now. She wrapped me up in the arms that had comforted me more than once since childhood and I felt better almost immediately. I could only hope the same could be said of her. "Thank you Bella."

BPOV

I wish it was as easy shouting some sense into Charlie. Edward's belligerence was truly grating on me and the way he spoke to Esme made me ashamed of him. Thankfully that lasted only minutes, my rage diminished after screaming at him on the deck. The happiness I felt being around him resumed when he apologised to Esme. Sometimes all it takes is a good kick up the arse.

Charlie watched us the whole time we were outside. His eyes never leaving my rigid stance and Edward submitting to the full force of my wrath. If there was a part of him that worried I was going to be controlled by Edward it was truly quashed in that moment. I knew that he was still plotting to take me away from this house though. He was as easy to read as I was sometimes.

After Edward apologised to Esme he pulled me back onto his lap and we listened as she relayed the story to Charlie to ensure he had all the facts. I'd never seen Charlie in full on work mode and as much as I was hurt and annoyed by him I was also impressed. He would write things onto a notepad making links and, I could only hope, putting it all together. His eyes shone with the knowledge that he could help someone in their time of need.

"We can pretty much discount any involvement of the family that killed you parents." Charlie announced to Edward. "If they had wanted you out of the way it would be done already." He stated bluntly. "Besides, blaming a mob family would be far too simple. This person does have a connection to you though." His hand rubbed along his moustache thoughtfully. "I'll work it out." With a nod he stood up and finally looked me in the eye. "Bella could I have a word?"

We walked out the cruiser in silence. Edward had motioned that he would come with me but I shook my head. After placing his notepad into the car he turned to me.

"I want you home."

"No." I knew this was coming. I shrugged slightly when I shook my head at him, taking a step back.

"Yes. I am your father and you will do what you are told Isabella!"

"I didn't realise that being my father made you my dictator. I'm safer here than I would be at home. Alone."

"You aren't going to do what I ask are you?"

"No." His shoulders slumped and when he looked at me he suddenly looked tired.

"You love him." His eyes flicked back to the house, to Edward standing at the window and back to me as I nodded. I could tell he was wondering how long Edward and I had been seeing each other, how long I had been keeping this from him. "He is replacing your bed." Charlie grumbled having run out of any arguments as to why I would be better off at him.

"He already offered."

"A single."

"I want a double." May as well go for broke at this point. His cheeks puffed out in annoyance, obviously thinking about my reasoning for a double bed and trying to work out if he could swap his shifts so that I would never be alone in the house with Edward and a double bed.

"You'll phone me if you need anything." Ignoring the bed issue he carried on talking. "If you see anything I want to know. I'll be sending someone up to watch over the house."

"Dad, is there a chance that this is an overreaction of epic proportions?"

"The more I find out the less likely that is." My hopeful breath rushed out of me leaving me deflated. "Don't worry." He took a step towards me and gave a quick kiss on the crown of my head. "Love you Bells."

"You too Dad." I watched him climb into the car and drive out of sight.

That went better than I expected. Edward was behind me when I turned back to walk to the house. His stealth knows no bounds apparently.

"Do you ever wish that you could wake up and start the day all over again?" He asked me, looking out into the trees. "I'd do anything to take back the way I acted today." Sighing he slung an arm over my shoulder.

"It's been a jittery couple of days. But on the plus side you get to buy me a new double bed." I smacked his behind and skipped away. Slowly his head turned towards me. My heart started to beat a little bit faster when I saw the mischievous look in his eye.

"Is that right?" His full body turned towards me and I scanned for the quickest route back to the house. "And what, pray tell, would the benefit of that be?" His head cocked to the side awaiting my answer.

"I was thinking sleep, though I'm sure you could introduce me to some more...stimulating...activities." Grinning I ran back to the house but was no match for the speed and agility of Edward. His hands clasped onto my hips and he swung me round to face him as I giggled.

"You always make me smile." He told me before capturing my bottom lip between his teeth.

"I prefer to make you moan." I tried out a seductive tone but ruined it by getting a fit of the giggles halfway through the sentence.

"That was convincing."

"Shut up and do me." Shaking my head and suppressing a smile I gazed up at him. He snorted out a laugh but it was quickly dampened by his realisation that I was serious. Without another word he hauled me up over his shoulder like a caveman and stalked into the house. The move had melted any useful muscles in my legs so even though I protested meekly at the treatment there was no way I would stay upright if he relented and put me down.

"Where are you two going?" Emmett inquired.

"Bedroom." Edward had turned into a monosyllabic caveman and it was seriously turning me on.

"Why?"

"Sex."

"Edward!" My voice wasn't the only on to cry his name in indignation. Alice, Rosalie and Esme sat behind Emmett with their mouths open. I'm surprised we didn't hear the thuds of their jaws hitting the floor. Edward slowly placed me on my feet and I hid my face in his chest, certain that the heat from my face was going to make me spontaneously combust in front of everyone.

"I was kidding." He laughed out convincingly. "Bella was reluctant to do some school work so I was merely convincing her to do it by carrying her."

Five eyebrows rose at once.

"Biology?" Emmett sniggered whilst appraising my alluring shade of purple.

"Something like that." Edward laughed, yanking on my hand to pull me up the stairs.

EPOV

Maybe it wasn't that clever of me to announce without ambiguity about what Bella and I were going to my room for but I had tunnel vision. I could think of nothing else but throwing her onto my bed and following her order of "do me". After spouting an unconvincing lie about homework I almost yanked her arm out the socket in my hurry to get her into my bedroom.

When I was sure we were out of sight of everyone I pinned her against a wall and assaulted her mouth with my own to make her forget all about the embarrassment I was sure was coursing through her body. Her hands quickly found my ass and pushed me further into her. I was so hard for her that there couldn't have been blood anywhere else in my body. There certainly wasn't any in my head when I ripped off my t-shirt and threw it away from me. Jasper and Emmett let out loud barks of laughter when I heard the soft thwump of fabric landing on the floor.

"You just threw that downstairs." Bella murmured against my neck, her tongue circling across the soft skin making me shiver.

"I don't give a shit." I growled out, pulling her legs up to wrap around my waist, my hips already starting their primal thrusting against her. With my fingers kneading her ass I half walked half stumbled us up to my room. Pushing her up against my bedroom door I grazed across her neck making her mewl at me and yank on my hair making me moan against the soft sensitive skin at the back of her ear.

With every fibre of my being I fought against bending her over the bed and spearing my throbbing cock into her when we finally made it through the door. My hands continued playing grab ass as her fingers stroked against my back and her nails scraped teasingly against the skin. Turning us towards the bed I threw her down onto it before yanking at the bottom of her shirt, eager to get it off her torso. She pulled it over her head but before it was even over her forehead my hands were on her tits, pulling them out of the cups of her bra and swooping my mouth down onto her straining nipples.

Circling my tongue across the pebbled surfaces I bit down softly making her arch her back to push them further into my face. My hand groped at the other one like an inexperienced fourteen year old but I didn't care for technique becuase I was so consumed by my pulsing need for her. Fingers tugged on my hair, sending fresh blood straight down to my cock. Shit I love it when she does that.

Our mouths met again in a ferocious clashing of tongues and lips, sliding my hands round her I managed to unclasp her bra and pull it away from her body completely with her help. She lay topless on the bed beneath me and I couldn't help but pause and stare at her.

Part of me still couldn't believe that this vibrant, gorgeous, intelligent and sexy woman wanted me. Just as much as I wanted her. It was a complete mystery but one I didn't care about the answer for, so long as she did that was all I cared about. I sat straddling her, my hands palming her tits, my tongue delving down to take the peaks into my mouth to make her gasp and moan. Her hips bucked up at me persistently and I edged down her body, my tongue claiming every piece of skin it came across until I reached the waistband of her jeans.

Making fast work of her button and zip I yanked them down off her legs, exposing the blue lace boy shorts she was soaking through with her desire for me. The blue made her skin luminescent and I had to pause again to soak in the sight of her below me. Impatiently she nudged me with her foot.

"Get to it." She grinned up at me sexily.

"You don't have to tell me twice.

I kissed up her thighs, relishing the tremble in them, until I reached the point where her legs stopped and happiness began. Grazing my fingers across the fabric I let a low groan escape me when I felt how much she wanted me, my cock twitched in my pants eager to make contact.

"You're so wet for me." I moaned before impatiently tugging her underwear down her thighs and off her legs completely. Kissing back up her thighs I delved my tongue straight down onto her clit, making her cry out beneath me, bucking her hips up at my mouth. "You taste like heaven." I told her as I slid my tongue down the silky slit towards her throbbing pussy.

I licked back up towards her clit; my fingers teasing her entrance before sliding into the tight wet haven, making my cock twitch all the more in jealousy. She was squeezing and pulsing around my fingers as my teeth grazed across her clit, my mouth clamping around it, sucking and humming to send vibrations through her.

"Edward." She had a knack of making my name sound like a sexual cry to arms. My fingers continued to pump in and out of her, her hands fisted in my hair and I knew she was on the edge. I lazily stroked my tongue across her clit again before biting down gently, pushing her over the edge. She clamped down onto my fingers, every muscle inside her pulsing against the curved solidness of them.

I had my jeans off in seconds as she trembled beneath me, my cock springing free and aching with the all consuming fucking need to be inside her. As I rolled a condom down my length her eyes found focus once again and she reached out for me, her gaze locked onto mine, a grin so sexy smeared across her contented face. I slid my body up against her own, my hands ghosting across her hips and tits until our faces were level. Her tongue flicked out and licked my lips, pulling me closer as her hand snaked down my torso and grasped me firmly.

My face dropped to her neck with the sensation of it, breathing heavily against her neck I moaned out. She slid the tip across her clit, jutting her groin up at me again, before easing me down the length of her slit and positioning me at her wet and ready entrance.

"I want you so bad." I groaned between the light kisses I was placing up and down her neck.

"You have me." She whispered into my ear, her hands let me go and pressed onto my ass, encouraging me to push into her. I sank into her as far as I could go, feeling her flex and stretch and throb against me as she took the length of me with a gasp.

If it was this good with a condom on it was going to be painfully good without one.

Our lips clamped onto each other when I pulled out and sank back into her with more force, the primal urge to take her reclaiming its position at the wheel of my blood deprived brain. Her teeth bit down onto my shoulder as I pumped in and out of her, feeling her walls clench against my twitching cock. I thrust harder, deeper, faster, making her moan my name as I grunted her own. Unintelligible words shot out of my mouth until I shouted in release as I emptied myself into the end of the condom, wishing it was emptying straight into her.

Exhausted I collapsed down onto her, careful to not crush her beneath me. Our hearts beating against each other, finding a rhythm. Kissing along Bella's collar bone I looked up at her with a pathetically adoring look on my face which made her smile softly at me.

"You think they all know?"

"Do you really care after that?" Grinning we looked at each other.

"Nah."

We lay against one another just fucking basking in afterglow. Occasionally Bella would take in a gulp of air like she was about to say something but would expel it with a little shake of her head until I finally asked what she was thinking like some needy chick.

"How many others have there been?" She asked shyly after a moments thinking.

"Not counting you? Six I think."

"You think?" Her voice was soft, it sounded a little defeated if anything.

"I wasn't counting Bella. If you mean people who meant something then that would be one. That would be you." I told her passionately, sitting my chin gently on her chest and watching her face.

"Who were they?"

"Moments I'd rather forget ever happened. Moments of weakness and loneliness. Moments that left me feeling disgusted with myself."

It was true, in moments of desperation and more often than not drunkenness I had succumbed to the overwhelming desire within me to make a connection. Make some sort of statement that I wasn't as alone as I was making out.

"If I could take it back Bella I would. If I could have given myself to you completely untainted then I would. But it was before I even knew something like this could exist for me." I gestured between us to make it clear I was talking about us. "You were with Newton, I don't let that bother me."

Much.

"How the hell do you know that? It was nothing. A moment of stupidity."

"You know what I mean then. Everything before...it just doesn't even compare to what we have. I love you, I can't even explain how much Bella. It just consumes me." I blurted out, desperate to make her understand.

"Well, I can hardly be pissed when you say stuff like that to me." Her face was suddenly lit up by a beautiful smile that I found myself returning. "I love you too." Her fingers traced across the line of my jaw.

"Signed, sealed, delivered I'm yours Bella."

"That's pretty corny Edward." She giggled.

"Not when it's Peter Frampton."

"I'll let it slide, but only because it's Frampton." She rolled her eyes and grinned down at me, conceding my point. "I'm hungry, can we go get some food?"

"You'll need to stop grinning like a post coital Cheshire cat then, or they'll never believe we were studying."

"Yeah because it was so convincing after you threw your shirt down the stairs." She snorted.


When we finally surfaced from my room we spent the rest of the afternoon with everyone else. A whole afternoon of playing cards and watching Bella sweep her hair away from her face. When she ran her fingers down her neck without thinking I almost threw her across my shoulder again. Her teeth would bite into her bottom lip when she got a card she didn't want and I wanted it to be my teeth.

A car had drawn up earlier, police lights spinning on the top to let us know it was the guy Charlie had sent to watch over us. Carlisle had arrived home and I asked to speak to him. With a nod he walked to his office and I followed.

"I want to apologise Carlisle. You don't deserve my wrath."

"In a way we do Edward, which is why we accepted it without rebuttal. Your assumption that we were going to tell you both that we had to leave was correct, but we realise now that you both have stronger ties to Forks than we had presumed."

"It's happened so fast Carlisle. Bella. She took me by surprise." He nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, I can see that, she was a surprise to us all. Esme called me earlier today." His fingers steepled and he peered over at me. "She told me about Bella taking you outside to talk."

"Talking is one word for it. Yelling would be more apt. She was furious with me."

"Things are still tense?"

"No, she showed me the errors of my ways and as soon as I apologised we were fine." No, things were definitely not tense. My mind flashed to her face as she had clamped and shivered beneath me.

There was a knock on the door before we could talk any further. Bella popped her head in apologetically.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt but I need to go home to pick up some things. I forgot my charger and I'd prefer to have it so that Charlie can call me." She shrugged. "No one else has the type I need."

"I'll take you." I started to stand but she shook her head.

"If I could just borrow your car? I'll be back soon." I threw my keys over and to my shock she caught them without looking. She shot me a grin of surprise before her head disappeared back behind the door and it was shut softly.

"You'll let her drive your car?" Carlisle asked in amusement, knowing that it was the possession I treasured most.

"What's the worst that can happen?"

BPOV

I know Edward loves his car but right at the moment the tyre burst a couple of miles from my house I have to say I hate it with a fiery passion that can only be equalled by my infinite love of all things touched by Dave Grohl. Of course at this point the faithful Forks weather would conspire to kick me in the ass also.

All I had wanted was my charger. How difficult should that be?

I couldn't even call someone to pick me up because my battery was completely dead. Tossing the phone into the back seat I considered my options. Rain drove violently down onto the windscreen taunting me with the fact that I was going to have to brave it.

Dammit.

I trudged along the road, stamping my feet into puddles with annoyance like a toddler would for fun. Boots should be uniform in Forks. As soon as you pass the town limits there should be a stall handing them out for free.

No cars passed me stomping along the road for twenty minutes until finally I saw headlights in the distance. The car slowed when it reached me giving me time to recognise it and curse my bad luck.

"Bella?" Mike Newton stopped the car beside me and shouted out the window.

"What?"

"Do you need a ride home?" His voice was deceptively concerned.

"No, I decided to go for a walk." I told him tersely before walking forward.

"I saw Cullen's car. You get a flat? Where is he?" Before waiting for an answer he continued on. "I wanted to apologise to you."

"Really?" My eyebrow raised on its own with scepticism.

"Yeah, come on. I'll have you home in five minutes."

"You keep your hands to yourself Newton or I'll rip them off." I growled as I hopped into the passenger seat.

He drove us in silence towards my house. Edward would kill me if he found out I had accepted a ride from Newton. He would already be worrying about me and I needed to get to a phone as quickly as possible. Newton kept stealing looks at me from the corner of his eye. His face was still covered in fading bruises from the weekend.

"I'm sorry." He blurted at me, turning the wheel and slowing down to stop outside my house.

"You should be."

"I like you. More than like you Bella." His fingers twitched on the wheel like he was fighting touching me. "I want you to be my girl."

"I'm someone else's Mike." Rolling my eyes my hand slid onto the handle, ready to pull and climb out the car.

"Why won't you choose me?"

"It was never a choice." I told him as gently as I could without my general annoyance seeping into my tone. "You used to be a nice guy, but I never wanted you."

"You could learn." I couldn't help it when a snort escaped through my lips. Shaking my head I turned to him.

"No. I'm with Edward. I love Edward."

"You can't love him, you've known him barely a month! It's infatuation."

"You don't know shit." I spat out. His hands released the wheel and gripped my wrist. "Let go of me." My other hand released the handle and swung round to connect with his face. "In future don't even look at me." I wrenched my wrist away from him and threw myself out of the car.

I knew I should have brought Alice with me.

I let myself into the house, locking the door behind me. Leaning back on it I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes.

Every time my eyes blinked shut since this afternoon I saw those eyes. Those bright blue eyes staring back at me. They were devoid of anything. It didn't look like there was any compassion or love or happiness anywhere in them. Now they were tattooed on the inside of my eyelids and I couldn't stop thinking about them.

Ignoring the movement I heard outside I headed into the kitchen. I heard Newton shout something but I wasn't going to give him the time of day. He had a chance to apologise, to make things right and he just can't control himself. I wasn't going to afford him anymore of my time. He doesn't deserve it.

I noticed my hand shaking when I pulled a drink out of the fridge. The cold that was seeping into my bones was becoming more obvious.

A nice long steaming hot shower is what I needed.

I had already stepped under the soothing hot spray of water when I remembered I hadn't phoned Edward to tell him about the flat tyre.

It could wait.

EPOV

Carlisle and I talked for almost two hours after Bella left to go get her charger. I confided in him about the dreams in the hope that he could shed some light on the situation.

"Considering that you did indeed meet her before I could only suppose that your mind projected an imagined version of what she would look like now."

"Like the computers that age people on the basis of their face shape and lifestyle?"

"Yes." He nodded at me. It made sense, but the timing didn't.

"Why would I have started dreaming about her 3 months before I even knew we were moving back to Forks?"

"Three months? You perhaps sub consciously picked up on signals from Esme and myself that indicated to you that we would be moving again. You could have been attuned to the tensions that would lead to our decisions to move."

That makes sense. I could have become aware of the silent indicators that we would be moving again without even realising it. Though why I would just assume it was back to Forks subconsciously or not I have no idea.

I felt lighter after talking to Carlisle; he had a knack of breaking things down to the most plausible of explanations. Walking into the kitchen where everyone else was sat chatting and laughing I expected to be greeted with Bella's smile. She wasn't at the table so I padded silently out of the room and headed up to my bedroom in the hope that she had snuck back and was lying in wait for me to follow her earlier instruction. The thought of that alone made me take the stairs two at a time.

She wasn't in my room.

My chest was starting to feel a little tight.

I hurried down stairs to look for her again. She had to be back by now. It doesn't take that long to get to her house and pick up a phone charger. Emmett looked up when I stumbled down the last couple of stairs in my haste.

"Edward?" Jasper was staring at me.

"Bella not back?" I tried to keep my voice calm. I didn't want to be seen to be overreacting. There was no need to worry just because she hadn't returned.

"Not yet. I'll call her." Emmett picked up the phone and punched in her number, frowning as he listened to whatever was going on in the earpiece. "Voicemail." He shrugged.

"I think I'm going to go for a drive." They both stood up and followed me through to the garage.

"Jasper?" Alice called through bewildered.

"We'll be back in a bit Al'." He replied as we piled into Esme's Mercedes, the only car that would take one of us comfortably in the back seat. Emmett had to have the only Jeep made that sits only two people. Surely that defeats the purpose of the machine?

Before I could reverse out of the garage Carlisle walked casually in and climbed into the back beside Jasper.

"Going for a drive?"

"Bella isn't back yet."

"Off we go then."

Having Carlisle in the car was a vague hindrance. I couldn't drive as I normally would because he would no doubt have something to say about the speed I was comfortable driving at. We sat in silence for twenty minutes before Emmett leaned forward and squinted through the rain at my car sitting abandoned on the side of the road. It was empty so I didn't stop.

"It looks like one of your tyres is blown." Jasper told me.

"Dude, do you think she walked in the rain?"

"What other option did she have?"

"Knowing Bella she has broken her ankle by now."

That was a valid point. I slowed to a crawl and told them to keep an eye out for her just in case she was lying incapacitated at the side of the road. I was turning seriously paranoid thanks to the past few days and I wouldn't be calm until she was near me, until I could hear her heart beat.

When we got to her house there was a car at the end of her drive blocking in the truck she so desperately loved. It was familiar but I couldn't place it until I saw the person sitting in it.

"Newton." I growled. Jasper cursed under his breath and leapt from the car, storming over to where Newton was sitting. He swung the door open, stuck his head down into it and recoiled like he had been punched in the stomach. He pulled back so quickly and hard he landed on his ass on the grass, eyes wide and his normally pale skin turning a distinct shade of green that I could see even through the thick blanket of rain.

"Jasper?" I called, climbing out of the Mercedes and walking over to him followed by the others.

He didn't reply.

Instead he pointed into the car he was unable to look away from.

I almost threw up and ended up on my ass beside Jasper when I looked inside. It looked like every surface in the car was sprayed with a thick sticky sauce that I recognised as blood. Newton's eyes were milky and vacant, staring at nothing. There was a sickeningly vicious looking slash across his neck. It stretched from ear to ear. The headlights from Esme's car illuminated the scene with a sickeningly surreal softness.

Images flashed through my head of my Dad lying on the bathroom floor staring up vacantly at my Mom in the bath.

Carlisle was checking impotently for a pulse. We all knew there was no point. The amount of blood spilled over the interior of the car made it obvious that Newton was no more. It felt like I sat there forever with the faces of my parents blighting my vision until I remembered why we were there.

Bella.

Where was she?

Running into the house I called her name. The front door was unlocked and the back door was wide open. Emmett was a step behind me calling out. He ran through the back door into the garden as I made it to the top of the stairs in three lunges.

She wasn't there.

"Emmett?! Is she out there?" I was becoming frantic, my hands tugged violently on the ends of my hair. Pinching the bridge of my nose I ran down the stairs and collided with Jasper.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

"Not in the house."

"Or the garden." Emmett added when he ran back in.

"Call Charlie. I'm going home." I ran out before they could answer me. Ignoring Carlisle calling my name I launched myself into the car and tore away from the house.

She could have turned back and walked to the mansion instead of walking to her house. She could have called Charlie from the house and had him bring her back safely. I'll walk in the house and she'll be sitting with Alice and Rosalie, laughing and joking. She'll greet me with a smile and wrap her arms around me, sinking her little hands into my hair and tell me she loves me.

My thumbs drummed on the steering wheel impatiently.

How could all this happen?

I had brought this to her door.

This was my fault.

I should never have broken my resolve and spoken to her.

I was weak and she was going to pay the price for that.

The house was in darkness when I pulled up in front of it. That was my first indication that something was wrong. The second was that police cruiser was no longer out the front. There was no friendly small town cop drinking a coffee and watching the house to protect the inhabitants from some deranged sociopath. It hadn't occurred to me to check it was there when we left. How long it had been gone I had no clue.

Fuck!

I was in way over my head. Where's my phone? My hands patted my body down but I didn't find my phone. I'd let Bella take it back to the spare room when she left my bed this morning. I threw my head back and let the rain wash down my face. Sighing deeply I let my gaze travel across the windows, searching for movement.

I had to go in and find Esme, Alice and Rosalie. I had to phone for help. I had to make sure Bella wasn't in there.

As silently as I could I walked in through the garage. I was beginning to feel like a cop on a bad TV show the way I had my back to the wall, sliding along to the door leading to the kitchen. I peeked my head round and pulled back. I didn't see anyone. I hurried through the doorway and placed my back to the wall again to listen.

There was no point in listening for any noises.

All the damn rooms were soundproofed. That didn't seem like the neatest idea all of a sudden.

I was torn between running straight for my room or starting to check through the house for someone.

If they walk in right now with handfuls of junk food and some DVD's I think I may just have to cry. Of course that didn't seem likely now that I was finding dead bodies littered all over Forks.

I tiptoed past the door to the entertainment room and paused. After tugging on my hair I pushed down the handle as quietly as I could manage. Thankfully the stairs don't creak, but I was at the point of begging inside for some sort of noise to shatter the overbearing silence swirling around me. It occurred to me that my nose made a noise with every third breath I took. The sound of me swallowing dryly echoed through the room.

My foot stepped down onto the plush carpet.

My hand flicked on the lights.

My eyes widened when I saw Alice, Rosalie and Esme lying bound and still on the couches lining the walls.

Rushing over I checked their pulses, one after the other. They were all breathing but they all had identical trickles of blood running down across their foreheads. I had seen too much blood this evening.

Bella wasn't there.

"Good of you to finally show up to save the day." A deep voice said conversationally from behind me.

"Where the fuck is Bella?" I roared as I spun round to pounce at whoever was in the room with me.

"I wouldn't worry about Bella, Edward, I'll make sure she's safe." He sneered and I stopped in my tracks when I saw the man in front of me. He focussed his blue eyes on my face as I took in the familiar blondish hair, the scar across his mouth, the cadence of his voice.

"James?"

With a step towards me that I couldn't flinch away from because I was just dumb-fucking-founded he raised his hand and the baseball bat he held within it.

My fucking baseball bat.

With a violent swing it seemed I no longer had the mental faculties to dodge he brought it down across the side of my head leaving me swaying on the spot before tumbling head first into blackness.

"Miss me?"

A/N: Enjoy it? Review it.

Some of you clever folks voiced your suspicions that it would James, so well done, I don't have a prize for you or anything but you can bask in your superior guessing skills.

And thanks to all who expressed sympathy about my bad week...the reviews most definitely helped out.

Updates won't be as quick because I'm back to college next week after Easter break...but I'll neglect it something wicked anyway to wrap this up so don't worry.