A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I really hope you realize how much I appreciate them, even though I'm bad at responding.

EPOV

Amazingly enough, for once, I had slept peacefully throughout the night. I could barely remember the last time that happened. Although I probably would have been able to sleep even longer, had it not been for the sudden rapid and loud banging on my door, causing me to wake up with a start.

I jumped up, startled, looking around the room in confusion. My eyes landed on the alarm clock, and I realized it was still early in the morning. The knocking just continued, and I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed, stumbled towards the door and flung it open.

My eyes narrowed when I found Emmett on the other side. The fact that he had actually helped me out with Bella the other day was the only reason I didn't slam the door in his face and went straight back to bed. Instead I greeted him with a grumpy, "What the fuck do you want?!"

His mouth opened, then closed again, and I could tell by the look on his face that he was itching to give me some snarky response in return. But he clearly decided against it, and went straight to business, "Bella's here. She seems pretty upset."

My irritation of being woken up instantly vanished. "What? What happened?" Panic started welling up inside me as numerous thoughts flew through my mind. Was Bella hurt? Was she upset because of me? Had she decided it was all too much for her, that I wasn't worth the bother after all, and had come here to end things before it went too far?

Emmett shrugged, oblivious to my sudden agitation. "No idea. You should go easy on her, though." I figured that was his way of nicely telling me not to be an ass to Bella, and it made me angry. As if I would. However, his next words shook me to the core, "She was a blubbering mess when I left. I think even Alice was startled."

Bella was crying? I all but lunged for the door, only to stop as Emmett quickly stepped in front of me, preventing me from leaving the room. Before I got the chance to yell at him to get the hell out of my way, he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Might wanna change into something a bit more appropriate first. Just a suggestion."

My eyes widened and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I realized I was still wearing the T-shirt and boxers I had been sleeping in - and nothing else. "Fuck," I muttered and spun around, hurried over to the closet and grabbed the first thing I spotted. Quickly pulling on a pair of jeans, I then rushed out of the room and headed for the stairs, ignoring Emmett's annoying chuckle as he followed behind me.

I found Bella sitting on the couch, next to Alice, and I instinctively started towards her, only to stop at a safe distance, suddenly fearing that she wouldn't want me to come closer. "Bella? What's wrong?" She turned her head to look at me, and the sight of her tear-stained face made my heart ache.

When she didn't answer, just stared at me with an unreadable expression on her face, I started to feel really uncomfortable, and it didn't exactly help to have Alice and Emmett in the same room. I could feel their eyes on me, and a part of me wanted to just turn around and run back upstairs.

But somehow, I managed to remain where I was. "Bella?" I asked again, holding my breath as I silently hoped she would respond this time. She was obviously hurting, whether or not I was the reason for her tears, and I just wanted to make her pain go away. I just didn't know how.

"I'm okay," she whispered, although she wouldn't meet my eyes. I wasn't stupid; I knew she was lying. But I wasn't about to confront her, at least not in front of a fucking audience.

Before I could say anything - and I had no idea what - Alice spoke up, "Bella, you're not okay. You were crying a moment ago, and I wanna know what's going on. Please, just tell me..."

I didn't even think as I walked up to Bella, interrupting Alice in the middle of the sentence, and wordlessly offered Bella my hand. She blinked, clearly surprised, but I refused to back down. Instead, I just nodded towards the stairs in question, praying she would understand my intention.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was making a mistake. But all of the sudden, I got the feeling Bella felt just as awkward being the center of attention as I did. And maybe, just maybe, she would feel more comfortable if it was just the two of us. I knew I would. So I held my breath, and waited for her reaction.

It felt like an eternity passed, when in reality, it couldn't have been more than a few seconds before Bella accepted my hand, her fingers tightly grasping mine. She didn't object as I pulled her to her feet, and I found myself wondering if she had felt the same familiar tingling sensation I did, the moment our fingers made contact.

Bella silently followed me up the stairs. Once we were inside my room, I closed the door behind us without a word. Then I glanced at her, and realized she was watching me intently. Unable to avert my eyes, I raised my hand, and hesitantly placed my palm against her cheek. "Please, talk to me," I all but pleaded. "If I did something..."

She immediately shook her head. "It's not you," she assured me, her hand flying up to catch mine before I could pull away, and gently held it in place. "That feels good," she murmured in explanation, blushing a little. "I like it when you touch me like that."

I swallowed hard. More than anything, I wanted to tell Bella just how much I enjoyed the feeling of her flawless skin against my fingers, but for some reason, the words got stuck in my throat. So I simply nodded in understanding, closing my eyes as she ran her thumb over my knuckles, and just relished the moment.

"Edward..." Bella breathed, and my eyes instantly snapped open. Our faces were now mere inches apart, and I found myself staring at her mouth, suddenly almost hypnotized by her soft lips as I couldn't help but wonder how it would feel, should she just take one step closer and brush them against mine. I subconsciously leaned in towards her.

Then I snapped out of it, my eyes widening as I realized what I was doing, and quickly took a step back as panic started to set in. "I'm sorry," I whispered hoarsely, not missing Bella's confused - and somewhat hurt - expression as I started to back away. "Bella, I-"

"Don't," she mumbled with a slight shake of her head. "Don't apologize."

The spell was broken, and I didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. I silently watched Bella step past me and over to the bed, where she sat down after a brief moment's hesitation. Then she looked up at me. "I texted you last night. I just wanted to see if you were okay. You know, after..." She left the rest of the sentence hanging, clearly knowing she didn't have to finish. I knew what she meant.

My eyes immediately went to my phone, still on the small nightstand where I had left it before I went to bed. "I, uh, turned it off when I got home. Sorry."

"Yeah, I figured." She shrugged, giving me a sheepish smile. "Actually, I got all paranoid, thinking you were avoiding me."

"Oh." I really didn't know how to respond to that.

"Were you?" Bella's cheeks flushed. "I mean, I know you just said you turned your phone off, but..." She self-consciously lowered her eyes.

I hadn't been avoiding her, at least not deliberately. "No, I wasn't," I told her sincerely.

"Good." She sounded relieved, although she kept her head downcast. "I don't want you to avoid me." A beat. "Ever."

"I-I won't," I mumbled, not completely certain it was a promise I would be able to keep, but nonetheless wanting to assure her. She raised her head then, and I could tell by the look on her face that it had been the right thing to say. Taking a deep breath, I decided to change the subject. "So, um, you wanna tell me what happened downstairs?"

"Oh." She grimaced. "You'll probably think it's stupid."

I shook my head. "I seriously doubt it. Try me."

Letting out a sigh, Bella nodded in agreement. She kicked off her shoes and pulled up her feet, tucking them beneath her. Then she glanced at me. "You can sit down if you want, you know. There's plenty of room."

"Um, sure." Hesitating a little, I walked over to the bed and sat down next to her, not so close that our bodies were touching, but close enough for me to take her hand. Then I gave her an expectant look.

She bit her lip. "I talked to Phil on the phone. He told me he's planning on selling the house in Phoenix."

I waited for her to continue. When she didn't, I raised a brow in question. "Okay. And... that's a bad thing?"

"I don't know. I guess not." Bella sighed again. "It makes sense, I suppose. I mean, my mom died in that house. I couldn't stand the thought of living there anymore, and I guess I shouldn't blame Phil for feeling the same way. It's just that..." she looked at me, a pained expression on her face, "I grew up there, you know. It's more than just a house. It was my home for seventeen years."

Finally realization hit me. Thankfully, Bella only had happy memories of her childhood. She didn't have any nightmares about her old room, because unlike me, she had never been hiding under the covers listening for the familiar sound of footsteps, praying in vain that just this once, they wouldn't stop outside the door. Unlike me, Bella never had to fear going to bed because of what was about to come.

That house meant something positive to her. It reminded her of good times, when her mother had still been alive, when she had been a part of a loving and caring family. When she had been happy.

I felt a pang in my chest. No matter how badly I wanted to tell Bella that it would be okay, that I understood how she felt, I couldn't. Because I didn't understand. I didn't know what it was like to grow up in a home where you didn't have to be afraid all the time, and I didn't know what it was like to mourn a loving parent, because I'd never had one.

Bella, on the other hand, obviously did know what that was like, because she used to have a good home and a mother who cared about her, and she had lost both. And now she was looking at me with those sad, brown eyes, silently begging me to do something - anything - to make it better.

That was when it hit me. Bella knew about my past. She knew about what James had done to me, and it didn't change the way she was looking at me, or how she felt about me. She was still here, wanting to be around me. Right now, she was hurting, though. And it was my turn to be there for her for a change.

Acting on a sudden impulse, I reached out and gently started rubbing her back, just like she had done to me so many times. It always made me feel better, and Bella had told me she liked it when I touched her, so I hoped it might bring her some comfort as well. It was the only thing I could think of, and I prayed it would work, because I just couldn't bear the thought of my Bella being in pain.

She immediately leaned into my touch, her body practically melting against mine as she snuggled closer, and I instinctively raised my arms and wrapped them around her. A moment later, I felt Bella's arms gently slip around my neck. Letting out a content sigh, she then rested her head on my shoulder.

I froze, but not because it was making me uncomfortable. In fact, quite the opposite. Bella's warm body was pressed against mine, giving me a strange, yet not unpleasant feeling inside. I couldn't explain it - nor did I completely understand it - but somehow, it just felt right.

Bella shifted in my arms, and I panicked, suddenly afraid she was about to pull away. I didn't want to let go, so instead I tightened my grip around her, burying my nose in her hair and inhaling her sweet scent. Bella smelled like strawberries and vanilla, and while I felt pretty silly for sniffing her hair, I just couldn't help myself. Just like her touch, Bella's smell had become an addiction to me.

"You're like my personal brand of heroin," I mumbled without thinking. Then my eyes widened in horror as I realized I had spoken the words out loud. However, I relaxed a little when I felt Bella smile against my shoulder. At least she wasn't sad anymore. And it didn't seem like she was in a hurry to get away from me, either.

"This is nice," she admitted softly, her fingers playing tenderly with the short hair at the back of my neck. "I like being this close to you." Then it was her turn to freeze, and she buried her face in my shoulder, clearly embarrassed by her confession.

I didn't want her to feel awkward, because I felt the same way. It scared me a little, but at the same time, I was strangely fascinated. For as long as I could remember, I had dreaded any kind of physical contact; the thought of it as a pleasant experience had never even existed in my world.

But that was before Bella had entered my life, changing everything I thought I knew. Bella, who knew about my past, and was now my girlfriend. I still had a hard time taking it all in. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought the day would come when I would be cuddling with a girl, on my bed, and enjoying every moment of it.

Somehow, I felt lighter, like a huge weight had lifted from my shoulders. I pulled back a little, just so I could look at her. Bella raised her head, and I could see the question in her eyes. She actually pouted a little, clearly not pleased that I had moved. "What's wrong?" she asked, an alarmed note in her voice.

"Nothing." Once again, I found myself utterly fascinated by her lips. I felt Bella's eyes on me, sensing her confusion, and realized I was staring shamelessly, but I just couldn't seem to stop. She was so close, and I felt myself drawn to her like a moth to a flame. "I just wanna try something," I whispered, my eyes never leaving her lips as I once again leaned towards her.

I heard Bella inhale shakily, understanding obviously dawning on her, and she became completely still. Her lips parted slightly, but other than that, she didn't move. Instead she just watched me with a longing, almost adoring expression on her face. That was when I knew I wouldn't pull back this time.

Raising a trembling hand to gently cup Bella's cheek, I then closed my eyes, and pressed my lips against hers. She let out a soft moan, and I nearly sobbed, because it just felt so good, so fucking right, like my entire life had been leading up to this very moment, and everything suddenly made sense.

That was, until I felt Bella's tongue against my lips, tentatively seeking access into my mouth. I tensed up, struggling desperately against the repulsion threatening to well up inside me. All of the sudden, I was no longer in my bedroom in Forks - I was nearly two thousand miles away, hearing James' voice in my head as clearly had he been right there next to me.

"Open up, boy. Take it in your mouth. Do it!"

I must have made some kind of sound, or maybe Bella just felt how my posture stiffened, because she immediately withdrew her tongue. Instead she just brushed her lips against mine, one last time, and then pulled back, only to press her cheek gently against mine before I got the chance to fret over the loss of contact.

Her fingers found their way to my hair, and I instantly relaxed, feeling how a wave of calmness came over me. But then I started to become angry. I finally had something good in my life, and I'd be damned if I was going to let that son of a bitch destroy it. So I took a deep breath, and pushed all disturbing thoughts to the back of my mind.

Taking comfort in Bella's soothing presence, I braced myself before crashing my lips against hers again, willing them to part. I could feel her hesitation, but also sensed her desire to keep going. Finally she gave in, and I took the opportunity and slid my tongue into her mouth.

Once the shock had worn off, I found myself intrigued, eagerly exploring Bella's tongue with my own. A small whimper escaped her and she tugged gently at my hair, hungrily responding to the kiss. That was when it occurred to me. I was actually kissing a girl. No, scratch that; I wasn't just kissing a girl. I was kissing Bella. And I never wanted to stop.