A/N: You should seriously go to my profile and take my poll. Give me some feedback on my latest story lines. I appreciate your opinions. I'm sad to report that "The Last Night" will probably be a conditional sequel. Boo hoo. I'm going to try not to make it like that but Edward and Bella are already together. They're just going to have to face some decisions and crap.

Chapter 36

Alice helped me carry the numerous amounts of bags she had gotten up to my room. I had everything from sweaters to underwear. I'm pretty sure I even saw some new fuzzy slippers. Very cute fuzzy slippers if I do say so myself.

I gave her a goodbye hug and then watched as she headed off to her destination. My stomach growled and I realized I hadn't eaten anything in awhile. I approached the kitchen and thought of what to fix. For some reason I was feeling like comfort food. You know what I'm talking about. Comfort food is the food that your grandma use to make and you use to live for.

I went to the freezer and pulled out some frozen breaded okra and went in search for the deep-fryer. There's nothing like fried food to help you get through a broken heart. Next I went in search of some ribs and possibly some squash if I could scrounge some up. I decided just to hold off my appetite till Charlie got home and fix a good home cooked meal. It was the least I could do for leaving him home alone for the past couple of days.

I ran upstairs and grabbed my iHome and my iPod and plugged it in. "Temperature" by Sean Paul came on and I started dancing along to it. I let the cooking and music distract me from my real thoughts. I knew the truth was hiding somewhere in my thoughts. I missed Edward and there was no use hiding it.

I pulled out some noodles and cheese deciding to make my grandma's macaroni and cheese. I glanced at the clock and saw it was almost four. The day had passed pretty quickly. I put the noodles on to boil and then put my hand over the deep-fryer to see if it was warm enough to start frying the okra yet. Deciding that it wasn't warm enough I got started chopping a large onion and then chopped the squash that I had bought last week.

Completely forgetting that I was supposed to have ribs as the meat I fumbled around the freezer until I found them. I decided to help it thaw by putting it in the microwave. Once everything was chopped and cut I went to work multi-tasking. I stirred the squash and onions and put the macaroni in the oven. On top of that I dropped some okra in the fryer and pulled the meat out of the microwave.

I basted the ribs and started heading out to the grill when Charlie burst through the door. He hurriedly came in the door and slung his belt over the knob. "Something smells good Bells." He called from the foyer.

"I hope you're hungry. I'm cooking enough to feed the la Push boys." I laughed at our little joke. I had always laughed at the amount of food that those boys could consume.

Charlie stopped in his tracks and looked at me. "Oh Bells, I forgot I have a date tonight."

I dropped the spoon and if fell onto the stovetop. "Oh really? Pray tell!" I smiled.

He blushed. Yes, Charlie blushed. "So, who is it?"

He shrugged. "Sue."

I ran to him and gave him a huge hug. "Dad! That's great. I'm so happy for you."

He smiled smugly. "Thanks, sorry I'm leaving you for dinner though."

I shrugged it off. "Don't worry. I'm sure Jake would love to come over. He wanted to talk to me anyway. Go ahead, have fun."

He smiled. "Thanks Bells."

I watched proudly as he jogged up the stairs a little more enthusiastically than he normally would. I felt like a proud parent. You know the one that gets called to school because their kid was getting the good citizen award? Yeah, that parent.

I turned back to my work and took the ribs to the grill. I ran back inside to stir the squash and onions and pulled the okra out of the fryer and placed some more in their place. After salting the okra I ran back outside to flip the ribs.

After the ribs had been cooked and barbequed I picked up the phone to call Jake. He picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?" He sounded a little out of breath.

"Hey Jake, where are you?" I asked watching the clock.

The doorbell rang. "I don't know, you tell me."

EPOV

"Hello?" I called Carlisle's cell phone and he was quick to answer. It was late the next day and I had just gotten back to my room. Tanya had asked me to help clean up from the ball. With us working together, we were done in no time.

"Hey Edward, what can I do for you?" Carlisle sounded like he was in a hurry.

"Are you busy? I could call back later." I decided I probably should have.

"Um, no. Sorry I was just heading to work and Emmett and Jasper hooked up the computer to the big screen and they're playing sims." He laughed.

"Ah, well I was hoping to go back to school. I need to preoccupy myself doing something. I had planned on taking day classes and night classes." I flipped through a couple of brochures that I had printed off the internet.

"Edward, I'm so proud of you. How about Dartmouth?" He offered his opinion. "I'm sure I could pull a few strings and get it up and going."

I thought about his suggestion. "Yeah, I actually have a brochure on Dartmouth. I had been considering it. I don't have the money to afford that kind of college though."

Carlisle laughed. "Don't worry. Consider yourself on scholarship. I have enough money stored up to send the whole family to college for the rest of their lives. Don't worry about it. You are my new son."

"Thanks." I whispered. Then a thought came to my mind. "Carlisle, why do you have so much faith in me?" I asked.

He stopped laughing and his tone turned serious. "I admire you Edward. You have enough will power as a young vampire to resist enough around someone that you love. I see a lot of myself in you. I wouldn't be surprised if you became a doctor."

I shuddered at the thought of jumping someone on the operation table. "In considerable time." He added.

I smiled. "Thanks Carlisle. I owe you a lot."

He sighed. "Well, I was going to call you later but now that you're on the phone. What do you want to do about Ms. Swan?"

"What do you mean?" I asked a little frantic at the idea of possibly hurting Bella.

"The Volturi will not forget about her. She's different." He stated.

I shuddered. "I'm not sure. I'll get back to you?"

"Very well. I will get up with Dartmouth. I trust you have the credit card in you wallet?" He asked.

I reached over and grabbed my wallet from the side table. I flipped open the fold to see a silver credit card. "Yeah." I answered.

" Very well. That will be more than enough to pay for gas, books, and an apartment if you so choose to get one. I'm sure you would appreciate a room by yourself. I will get you enrolled and you can pick your classes when you arrive." He ran through all the details.

I listened to his instructions. "Thank you Carlisle."

"No problem. So what will be the big career choice?" He asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I was thinking Alice could tell me that." I asked a little hopeful. My phone beeped and I looked to see that Alice was calling. "That's her. I better answer it. She'll just call back multiple times."

Carlisle chuckled. "That she will. Well I'm at the hospital. Come see us sometime son."

I smiled at the thought. "Will do. Bye Carlisle."

I hit end on my phone and transferred over lines to talk to Alice. "Hello?"

"Edward!" She exclaimed. "Graphic designer." Was all she said before she hung up.

So, I would be a graphic design artist. That sounds almost official. I started to pack my things away one article of clothing at a time. My thoughts once again trailed back to Bella. I wondered what she was doing at the time. There was a soft knock on my door.

"Come in." I sighed while folding up a shirt.

"You're leaving." Tanya whispered. I knew she was depressed. I couldn't help but hear her thoughts while we were cleaning up.

"Yeah." I tried to sound depressed but in all actuality I couldn't be happier to be on my way. All this idle time was getting to my head.

"We're going to miss you around here." She stated but I knew it wasn't true. Tanya was the only one that had even talked to me the whole time.

I shook my head. "You'll live."

She scrunched up her nose. "Okay, so I'll miss you." She plopped down on the bed next to my suitcase. "Where are you going?" She asked while playing with the zipper.

"Dartmouth." I answered blankly.

Her hand stopped and then started again. "Wow." She paused. "I got up with your father today."

I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. "And?" I prompted.

She smiled. "I offered him the job I offered you. He was thrilled and when he asked who recommended him I told him someone was looking out for him."

I was ecstatic. This opened up so many possibilities for the family. "Thanks a lot." I gave her a tight hug and she returned it and laid her head on my shoulder.

"No problem Edward." She whispered in my ear and her breath caressed my ear. "Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

I pulled away from her and went back to my work. The simple gesture was too intimate for my taste. "I'm sure." I whispered a little too quickly. "I really need to get some schooling."

She sighed. "Okay, well good luck." She pecked me on the cheek.

"Thanks." I whispered and pulled away.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out the door with Tanya following closely behind me.

A/N: Okay, so a lot of people are thinking that Bella just completely accepted the fact that Edward was gone for a very long time. Well I'm just letting you know that she didn't. Read further in the story if you want to see her real reaction. Right now she's focused on keeping herself busy and hiding her emotions for Charlie, Alice, and more than likely Jake. We also are going to have a new member of the family in this story. (Thanks to Jake.) What will happen?

Also remember to take my poll!

Kayla