"What are you doing here?" Marcus asked, taking a step toward me. Out of pure instinct, I moved away. The brother I had known all those years ago had turned into someone I didn't know, someone I couldn't trust. Frowning, he took a step backward, and I felt horrible that I couldn't trust him. "Sorry."

"I work here," I mumbled, shifting my attention to Sam.

"Oh," Marcus replied, clearly confused.

"I wasn't expecting you to be back this soon," Sam said, his eyes flittering from me to Jake and Seth, to Marcus, Garrett, and then to the two men I didn't know. "Bella, this is James and Tyler, two of our team members."

"It's nice to meet you," Tyler said, while James merely nodded his head toward me.

I couldn't seem to return the compliment, the words died in my throat. There were too many men in the room, too many people that could hurt me, and I found myself struggling to keep from clawing at my arms or screaming.

Sam seemed to sense that I was uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and pulled everyone's attention to him. "Go on to the conference room. I'll be right there."

Thought I could tell they were resistant, Jake, Sam, Garrett, James, and Tyler agreed and disappeared down the hallway, leaving only Marcus, Jasper, Sam, and Emily to stare at me.

"Should I leave?" Jasper mumbled, looking from me, to Marcus, and then to Sam.

"No, no," Sam said, placing his hand on Jasper's back, who immediately shrugged it off. Sam looked over at Emily. "Can you get him started on his paperwork? You can take him into my office."

"Sure," Emily told him, and gestured for Jasper to follow her to Sam's office.

I could tell that Jasper wasn't sure if he should leave me alone, one of the reasons, he and I got along like we did: we both knew about monsters and pain, a lesson we'd learned it the hard way. Once they were inside his office, Sam turned and angled his body toward me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I shook my head, because I wasn't okay. I felt lost and confused, and I was tired of trying to be strong, tired of pretending that I had my shit together. Maybe that's what the old man meant about me not being ready. Maybe he could see that I'd been lying to myself about how I felt. Or maybe he just didn't want to be my father anymore. After all, he had three years to tell me who he was, hadn't he?

"Bella," Sam said.

I released a breath as I turned back toward him. "I'm okay."

Sam gave me a look before he turned to Marcus. "I wasn't expecting you today."

"Garrett thought it might be a good idea if I came with him," Marcus said, while staring at me. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Sam said, immediately. Though, I could tell it was.

"We've been worried," Marcus said, taking another step toward me. And once again, I moved away. "I'm not going to hurt you, Bella."

"I know," I lied.

"Mom's been frantic. Said she's worried that you'll disappear again," he added.

I wasn't sure how to respond, so instead I just stood there.

Marcus sighed. "Will you please talk to me?"

"I don't know what you want me to say," I exclaimed. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm . . . I can't . . ." Bringing my hand up to my chest, I struggled to keep my breathing even. "What do you want from me, Marcus? Hmm? What do you want?"

"I want my sister back," he said, almost pleadingly.

But before I could say anything else, Jake walked into the room. "Sam, dude, time is money."

"Yeah, Jake, I'll be right there," Sam told him, looking over his shoulder and giving his brother a look. Jake shifted his eyes to me before he turned and walked back into the conference room. "Sorry, I've got to get in there."

Sam turned and walked down the hallway, leaving Marcus and I alone. My brother turned his attention back to me, though he didn't say anything for several minutes. "You know what missed the most after you were taken?" he asked.

I shook my head.

He smiled. "Sunday mornings. Do you remember?"

"No," I lied, because I did.

Marcus's smile faded, and I immediately felt guilty. "Suppose that's understandable. Mom and Dad always slept in on Sundays, so you'd get the cereal, milk, and bowls, and we'd spread blankets out on the living room floor and eat breakfast while we watched cartoons. You always let me have the toy from the cereal, too."

"Because you'd cry if I didn't," I mumbled.

"You do remember!" he laughed.

I nodded. "One of the few good memories I have from before."

"Mine, too," Marcus admitted.

"Is . . . Is the old man okay?" I asked, quietly.

"Dad's . . . he's okay, I guess. They're moving him to a rehab center tomorrow. They're hoping to help him get full use of the left side of his body."

"That's good," I murmured.

"You don't have to call him old man, you know."

"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.

"He's Dad, or I guess you could call him Charlie. But not old man."

"It's habit. He's been the old man in booth six for so long," I explained.

"He came in everyday? That's what you said, right?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Then how could you not know who he was?" Marcus accused.

"What?"

"How could you not know who he was? He sat there every day and you didn't know?"

I sighed. "I don't know. The father I remembered was young and healthy. He smiled all the time, laughed, loved, but the old man . . . he was mean and cranky, hardened," I explained.

"Suppose I can understand that," he told me. "I am sorry, you know?"

"For what?" I asked.

"For how I treated you when you showed up at the hospital. For not believing you."

"Oh," I murmured. "Um, that's okay."

"No, it's not," he groused. "After Dad left, I was so angry, Bella. I was eleven years old, and my sister, who was my hero, had vanished, and then my dad left. I . . ." Marcus paused, struggling to control his emotions. "I thought it was my fault."

"What?" I gasped.

"You and I fought the morning you were taken, and Dad and I had argued the he left. Seems like I'm the cause of all of it, doesn't it?"

"No," I scoffed. "You were a kid, Marcus."

"So?" he snarled.

"So you couldn't have done anything to stop what happened. The old man has to own up to his own mistakes. Nothing that has happened to our family is your fault."

"It's not yours, either," Marcus argued.

Shaking my head, I disagreed. "You have no idea what I've done."

"No, I don't," he agreed. "Because you left me, too." And before I could argue with him, Marcus said, "I can't do this right now."

Marcus pushed the door open and left.

—SMTS—

By the end of the day, my head was throbbing and all I wanted was to go back to my apartment and lose myself in bottle of Vodka. But of course, I couldn't do that, not if I wanted to keep Edward, and I wanted him more than I'd wanted anything in my life.

"Well, you made it through the day," Sam said, causing me to look over at him from behind Emily's desk. She'd spent the afternoon trying to teach me how to use the computer, and it hadn't been going well. I felt like an idiot, which didn't help cull the temptation to lose myself in a bottle.

"It's a miracle," I quipped.

Sam laughed. "You're doing great, Bella."

"If you say so," I grumbled, pushing away from the desk and picking up my bag. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Have a good night," he said, moving from in front of the door as I left.

Knowing that Edward would worry if I didn't at least stop by the bar, so I headed that way. As I approached the front door, I saw Rose standing on the corner at the end of the block. She would turn and start walking toward the bar, but then stop and turn back.

"Rose," I called, pulling her attention toward me. She brought her hand up to her stomach. "I'm surprised to see you here. Are you okay?"

"I . . . No, no, I'm not," she admitted, tearfully. "I need to talk to him, but I can't get the courage to actually go inside. He'll never forgive me, Bella. Not for leaving him again."

"Sure he will," I told her, slowly reaching out and grabbing her hand. "He loves you."

"Not anymore," she whispered.

"Come on, we'll go in together. I'm kind of scared, too."

"You are?" Rose asked, and I nodded. "Why?"

I blew out a heavy breath. "Let's just say that alcohol and I have a love/hate relationship right now."

"Oh, I see." Rose shifted her eyes back to the front door of the bar. "I should just leave Vegas for good."

"Is that really what you want?" I asked. "To leave Emmett again?"

"No," she admitted. "But how can I ask him to love me after I threw him away time and again?"

"Because when you needed him, he was there," I said. "None of us deserve the love we get, Rose. I don't, but Edward still loves me. And Emmett still loves you."

"I hope you're right," she whimpered.

The two of us slowly walked to the front door to the bar. Though I could tell Rose was nervous, I knew that Emmett needed to see her, needed her. I opened the front door and the two of us stepped inside. Emmett was leaning against the bar, talking to Edward, who stopped in mid-conversation and smiled at me. My cheeks warmed instantly. He nudged Emmett, gesturing for him to look over at us. When he saw Rose standing next to me, he immediately rushed over to her, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her with so much passion, I was embarrassed to stand there and watch them.

I walked over to the bar and slide onto one of the stools, turning my attention to Edward. "Hey."

"Hey," he echoed, grinning widely. "How was work?"

"It was . . ." I shook my head. "It was work. I don't know. Still not convinced I should be there."

"Me, either." Edward reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of water, setting it in front of me. "Might help quench the urge to drink," he said under his breath.

"Thanks," I mumbled, but took the bottle and opened it, taking a sip as I looked over my shoulder at Rose and Emmett, who were whispering furiously to one another. I turned back to Edward. "You're not very busy tonight."

"Thank God," he groaned. "Ben called in, so we're shorthanded."

"Oh." I toyed with the label on my water bottle, unable to keep my attention off the bottles of vodka lined up on the shelf behind the bar. My mouth watered at the thought of a drink.

"Hey," Edward said, grabbing my hand and pulling my attention away from the temptation screaming at me.

But before I could speak, the lights in the bar flashed on and off, causing everyone to look toward the door where Rose and Emmett stood, him with his arm wrapped around her waist and a look of euphoria on his face.

"Rosie and I are getting married!" Emmett yelled. "I'm gonna be a dad!"

Rose turned and buried her face in Emmett's chest, and I could tell that she was weeping. Looking back at Edward, I wondered what it would be like to marry him.

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